Nigeria’s sole rep in CAF Competitions Rivers United Angola’s Academica on Sunday in Uyo

Nigeria’s sole surviving team in CAF inter-club competitions, Rivers United, will begin their race for the Confederation Cup title when they meet Angola’s Academica do Lobito at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, on Sunday.

It is their first game of the group phase of the competition, which offers the first two teams from each group berths in the quarterfinal of the championship.

Last season, Rivers United made it out of the group stage, but fell short when they engaged Tanzania’s Young Africans in the quarterfinals. But this season, they have pledged to go a lot further by crowning their efforts with their first continental trophy.

The ‘Pride of Rivers’ have been in Uyo since Thursday perfecting their strategy for a game that would shape their campaign in the group stage.

Rivers United have been training at the main bowl of the Godswill Akpabio Stadium since Thursday, while the Angolans, who arrived in the city on Friday via Lagos, had their feel of the pitch Saturday evening.

Speaking ahead of the match, Rivers United’s Coach, Stanley Eguma, said, “We have prepared for a win. We are not underrating the Angolans, but we are very prepared for victory.”

He dismissed the notion that their favourites’ tag would weigh the players down, saying, “That is just a tag. We are not saying that as debutants, we have an edge over them. We will treat them as champions and play with everything we have to win the game.”

He said the coaches have prepared good replacements for players who have left the club, including Maurice Chukwu and Ebube Duru, adding that a good substitute has also been found for injured Ivoiriene attacker, Bernard Yao Kouassi, who is out of today’s game.

He added: “We plead with the fans to come and support us…we don’t want to play like orphans; Uyo fans and supporters from neighbouring communities should come out and support us. We promise to make them proud.”

Also speaking on the game, Skipper Nyima Nwagua, said any team that gets to this stage of the competition should be taken seriously, which, he said, Rivers United has done by training hard for the match.

He said he has played against Angolan opposition in the past and expects Academica do Lobito to present a tough game.

“We have trained hard; we have been told everything we should expect from the Angolans. We know the importance of the game and will ensure that we make every opportunity we get count.”

After Sunday’s game, Rivers United will travel to Kumasi to meet Dream FC of Ghana in their second Group C game on December 3 and return to Uyo to host Tunisia’s Club Africain on December 10.