Umar Ekong

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Enyimba U18
29 Apr 2029
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Marked for Umar Ekong

89 Edition

The Enyimba Sentinel

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad10 Apr 2028

Tempers go at Enyimba

Bassey John was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad10 Apr 2028

Words at Enyimba training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afolayan Peters 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.

Squad10 Apr 2028

Kelvin Ogunga reaches 25 shut-outs

25 games in 116 appearances where nobody scored at all. A keeper's career is counted in nothing happening, and none of this happened by accident.

Squad10 Apr 2028

Enyimba count the cost of losing Umar Ekong

19 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

The dugout10 Apr 2028

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Henry Iheanacho was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Enyimba dressing room was either.

The dugout10 Apr 2028

Bassey John 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 Enyimba, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Match8 Apr 2028

Point won or two lost for Enyimba?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Kano Pillars? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

Looking ahead10 Apr 2028

Ufere Chukwu faces his old club

Kwara United next, and one man in the Enyimba dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

Market10 Apr 2028

The Bassey John talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Enyimba know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

Back issues
85 Edition

The Enyimba Sentinel

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad13 Mar 2028

Tempers go at Enyimba

Bassey John was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match11 Mar 2028

Enyimba come up short against Katsina United

Katsina United left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout13 Mar 2028

The manager makes an example of Christopher Richards

“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.

Squad13 Mar 2028

A row about effort at Enyimba

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

Squad13 Mar 2028

Enyimba count the cost of losing Umar Ekong

48 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Boardroom13 Mar 2028

Doors closed at Enyimba

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

The dugout13 Mar 2028

Henry Iheanacho answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout13 Mar 2028

Joel Ezra asks for a word with the manager

“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.

Looking ahead13 Mar 2028

The leaders are next for Enyimba

Ikorodu City top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.

In brief

75 Edition

The Enyimba Sentinel

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market3 Jan 2028

Kingsley Maduforo 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 Enyimba can pretend not to have heard.

Squad3 Jan 2028

Sama'ila Bello is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Enyimba will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

The dugout3 Jan 2028

Peter Okechukwu: 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.” Enyimba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom3 Jan 2028

Enyimba tie Henry Iheanacho down

A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.

Squad3 Jan 2028

A falling-out at Enyimba

Ezekiel Edidiong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Boardroom3 Jan 2028

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Enyimba

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Transfer targets3 Jan 2028

Enyimba rebuffed over Jayden Adams

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Enyimba go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market3 Jan 2028

Simon Ebuehi steps up from the Enyimba academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Simon Ebuehi 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.

Market3 Jan 2028

Leon Oduya steps up from the Enyimba academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Leon Oduya 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.

In brief