Blessed Iyamu

Defensive Midfielder - Kun Khalifat
4 Apr 2027
Sunday
Process

Marked for Blessed Iyamu

29 Edition

The Kun Khalifat Chronicle

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

15 matches without a win for Kun Khalifat

The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around Kun Khalifat are no longer polite ones.

The dugout

Hassan Olubode says Kun Khalifat went back on their word

“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.

Market

Shuaibu Olofu 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 Kun Khalifat can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Kun Khalifat are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Match

Kwara United take the points off Kun Khalifat

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

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Squad

Akpan Nsikak-Abong in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kun Khalifat this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Purpose Ahubaraezenna

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Wilfred Chukwueze: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

Back issues
27 Edition

The Kun Khalifat Chronicle

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Kun Khalifat's wait for a win

12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kun Khalifat has to find a result from somewhere.

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Kun Khalifat board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Match

Kun Khalifat throw away a 2-goal lead

2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Bayelsa United the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Kun Khalifat will enjoy reviewing.

Transfer targets

Fee done, terms next for Stanley Oganbor

Kun Khalifat and Barau have settled on $500.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.

Squad

Akpan Nsikak-Abong stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

The dugout

Blessed Iyamu: 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.” Kun Khalifat have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

Kun Khalifat close the window on a squad of their own making

2 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Market

Damilola Salami puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kun Khalifat, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Ademola Akinola signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ademola Akinola and Kun Khalifat agree another 3 years.

In brief

23 Edition

The Kun Khalifat Chronicle

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

11 saves: Akpan Nsikak-Abong was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

The wait goes on for Kun Khalifat

8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market

Emmanuel Okoh puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kun Khalifat, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

Luka Ngwei due for a Kun Khalifat medical

Everything agreed with Nasarawa United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Boardroom

1 academy graduates step up at Kun Khalifat

Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.

Match

Bendel Insurance take the points off Kun Khalifat

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Market

Gabriel Awaziem steps up from the Kun Khalifat academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gabriel Awaziem has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

Words exchanged at Kun Khalifat

Akpan Nsikak-Abong and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Blessed Iyamu signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Blessed Iyamu and Kun Khalifat agree another 4 years.

In brief

20 Edition

The Kun Khalifat Chronicle

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Hassan Olubode says Kun Khalifat went back on their word

“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.

Market

Aminu Simon steps up from the Kun Khalifat academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aminu Simon has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

Words at Kun Khalifat training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wisdom Obichere is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

A falling-out at Kun Khalifat

Akpan Nsikak-Abong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Blessed Iyamu

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Blessed Iyamu, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Sunday Kalu gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sunday Kalu is on it.

In brief

10 Edition

The Kun Khalifat Chronicle

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Michael Akano in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kun Khalifat this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Kun Khalifat

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Wisdom Obichere was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Hassan Olubode

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hassan Olubode, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Ola Okocha 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 Kun Khalifat, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Kun Khalifat have started building around Joseph Ameh

He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.

The dugout

The manager makes Michael Akano a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Kun Khalifat. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief