From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
A one-man rearguard from Ali Ishaku
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market26 Jul 2027
Imo Obot hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Abia Warriors can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market26 Jul 2027
Amadi James has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Abia Warriors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match24 Jul 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Abia Warriors did not have in the autumn.
Market26 Jul 2027
Barau are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Abia Warriors will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Jul 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Abia Warriors did not have in the autumn.
Market19 Jul 2027
Kun Khalifat are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Abia Warriors will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Chimezie Njoku
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad19 Jul 2027
2 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jul 2027
Okiemute Odah hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Abia Warriors can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Elu Wilson: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Abia Warriors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samuel Ogunjimi and Abia Warriors agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market5 Jul 2027
Imo Obot told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Imo Obot has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Abia Warriors.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Jun 2027
No end in sight to Abia Warriors's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Abia Warriors has to find a result from somewhere.
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Okiemute Odah: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Abia Warriors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Jun 2027
Ojimade Favour has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Abia Warriors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match5 Jun 2027
2-3 to Barau, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Ali Ishaku gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
Emmanuel Onu gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match13 Mar 2027
A 2-2 draw with Plateau United leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Imo Obot knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Abia Warriors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Abia Warriors can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Abia Warriors's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Abia Warriors has to find a result from somewhere.
Market7 Sep 2026
The name of Nmecha Johnson has come up in conversations Abia Warriors were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match5 Sep 2026
Bayelsa United left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 122% of everything Abia Warriors earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Suraju Lawal gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Abia Warriors will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The captaincy goes to Paul Samson. It is not a job that wins matches, but a dressing room always notices who is given it.