Abuja Metro FC’s run in the Ramadan Pre-KOPA Super Cup came to an end after a quarter final defeat to Suicide-Jubril FC.
The competition which served as a pre-season tournament for the KOPA Super Cup came to live in the quarter finals as the 8 teams fought for a spot in the last four.
AMFC Team: Ernest Odoh (GK), Anuge Andrew, Bitrus Bernard, Dupsonie Ramson, Steven Temple, Habakkuk Jonathan, Eboh Leonard
A solitary first half goal from Suicide-Jubril FC was enough to end the tie as the second half produced no further goals. It is the first match Abuja Metro FC failed to score in the Ramadan Cup.
It was a good tournament for the lads as they prepare for future competitions.
Abuja Metro FC have been drawn in Group C of the 2021 Unity Cup alongside defending champions Rhapsody FC, Premier Football Academy, Sun FC, and Eagles Wings Football Academy.
The draw took place on Saturday May 15, 2021 at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Garki Abuja. Team mangers, Club coaches and captains of the 20 clubs were present at the draw.
The 20 clubs were grouped into four groups. The top 2 in each group will progress to the quarter final of the competition.
The Unity Cup is an annual competition organized by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Football Coaches Council. Abuja Metro FC participated in the 2019 edition finishing with 2 points from 3 games. The competition was put on hold in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Speaking to the AMFC Media after the draw, Team Manager Egbunu Martins Ojay expressed his excitement:
“Based on the metrics and performances of the Club, I expect the 2021 Unity Cup to be a very exciting turn out. The team has learnt from the last time we participated in the cup in 2019. That was our very first competition. We have gone back to the drawing board and we expect a very challenging turnout”.
The players and the coach are high mentally and would also want to extend their unbeaten run to this competition. Abuja Metro FC are unbeaten in their last five matches.
Team Manager Ojay
Ojay acknowledges that we will be facing tough opposition in the competition.
We would be facing tough opponents in the group. Rhapsody FC were winners of the 2019 Unity cup, Sun FC have played in the NLO while Premier Football Academy participated in the 2019 Unity Cup & the FCT FA State League.
I believe the coach and the team won’t take any of the games for granted and the Club would be coming out to make a reputable Statement.
Matches will be played at the Area 3 Pitch and Old Parade ground. Fixtures and dates will be announced on Tuesday May 18, 2021.
We are delighted to unveil our new Home and Away replica jerseys, for the new season 2020/2021. The squad will wear the new kits in our competitions and matches this new season.
The jerseys are available for purchase via our online store.
Football is back! The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has announced that the restriction on contact sports (including football) has been lifted. This is after about seven months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, this is limited to the sport itself – which means that fans are still restricted from match venues.
However, we’ve got you covered with regular updates and information on events and developments.
First off, we will be launching our jerseys for the new season on Monday, 19th October 2020. Please stay glued to our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and information on how you could win a FREE customized club jersey.
A superb second half free kick from Ikenna Ekedoro ensured Abuja Metro FC finished the season with at least a win.
It was our
last match of the FCT FA League group phase but we were searching for our first
win of the season. After losing 4-1 to Da-Priest FC in our opening game of the
season, we drew with 1-1 with Echos Thrift FC. We celebrated our first point of
the season but lost 1-0 to Will-Wealth two weeks later.
The chances
of progressing to the second phase of the FCT FA League were minimal but the
opportunity to record our first win was up for grabs. De Marshall was the team
in our way.
The game
started on a poor note for Abuja Metro. The referee awarded a penalty to De
Marshall in the 16th minute after Bernard Bitrus handled the ball in
the box. The penalty was converted to give De Marshall a 1-0 lead.
Just after
the hour mark, Abuja Metro responded. Alex Moses drew the team level in the 61st
minute with an assist from Bethel Onwughara. Things worsened for De Marshall
after their captain was sent off in the 67th minute.
Four minutes later, substitute Ikenna Ekedoro converted a superb free kick to give Abuja Metro a lead for the first time this season. The substitution by head coach Abdullahi Abubakar at half time proved to be decisive.
The team held on to the 2-1 win to finish the season with their first competitive win. They miss out of the next phase of the FCT FA League on goal difference.
After 17 previous friendly and non-competitive matches, history beckoned on us to make a mark in Abuja and Nigeria. We made our competitive debut in November 14, 2019 when we filed out against Da-Priest Prolific FC in the 2019/20 FCT Football Association League at the Area 3 Football pitch, Garki Abuja.
Da-Priest
FC opened the scoring in the third minute to put us on the back foot. The goal
donned on the players that an equalizer was needed. Up came Bethel Onwughara in
the 22nd minute for the equalizer and first goal in the league. The
forward controlled a beautiful long-range pass from Prince Kennjones before
slotting it beyond the keeper to draw us level.
It was much more than a goal. It was our first statement in Nigeria football – our first competitive goal in our first competitive game. The game however ended 4-1 in favour of Da-Priest FC.
Speaking to
AMFC Media after the game, Bethel expressed happiness with the goal and praised
the midfielder that provided the delightful assist: “I’m actually happy to have
scored. The goal came as a result of team play and great vision from Prince to
have spotted my run.”
“It is a mixed feeling to have scored the club’s first ever league goal due to the final result of the game. It wasn’t the result we expected. The game left a bitter taste for us all because we committed so many errors that we hope to correct on the training ground. I am quite happy to be among these great players representing this great Club and with hard work and commitment, we’ll go places.”
Bethel
knows there is much work to be done: “I hope to improve on my conversion rate
in order to help the team get the results we need.”
He further
expressed optimism with the club: “I am optimistic that we are heading towards
the right part. The management have been trying to encourage us and we will do
our best to represent this club badge.”
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) State League 2019 is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, 13th November 2019 and a total of 37 teams will be competing for honours. We have been drawn in Group B, along with De Marshall FC, Thrift Echoes FC, Da Priest Prolific FC and Will Health FC.
The draws were conducted on Thursday, 7th November 2019 at the FCT Football Association (FCT FA) office in Area 10, Abuja, in a ceremony presided over by Mr. Wakili John, a board member of the FCT FA and Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Representatives of the participating clubs were in attendance and also present were Mr. Lawrence Sunday, the Secretary of the Organizing Committee as well as Mr. Haruna Ilerika, the Secretary of the FCT FA, who moderated the event.
Explaining the format, Mr. Wakili John stated that the competition would be in three phases. After the group phase, the top two teams from each group would be joined in the second phase by two of the best third-placed teams. The 16 teams that qualify for the second phase would then be divided into four groups of four teams each, from which the top team in each group would qualify for the final phase, which is the Super 4.
The matches will take place at the Area 3 Football Pitch, Garki, Abuja.
Abuja
Metro Football Club has officially appointed Abdullahi Abubakar as Coach of the
team. He was unveiled immediately after putting pen to paper before the team’s
training session on Saturday, 9th June 2019.
Abubakar, a former goalkeeper, had playing spells with NEPA Football Club of Lagos, Jigawa Golden Stars, Crown FC of Ogbomosho and internationally with Requins de l’Atlantique FC of the Benin Republic, with whom he won a league title. After his playing career, he ventured into refereeing and retired as a Grade One Referee. Now a holder of the CAF ‘C’ Coaching Licence, Abdullahi Abubakar is tasked with leading Abuja Metro FC up the national football league ladder.
Abuja
Metro FC is a newly-formed and supporter-owned football club with a
vision to develop a model professional football club and to compete at the
highest level of association football. The club is a Registered Cooperative
Society that affords football fans in Abuja and beyond the opportunity to
become co-owners of the football club – Abuja Metro FC – through any of three
categories of membership/shareholding (Green, Gold and Platinum available at
the cost of N2,000, N5,000 and N10,000 per month respectively). By virtue of
the club rules, members/shareholders of the club form part of the
decision-making process and are entitled to vote and be voted for into the
Management Board of the club.
History was made at Abuja metro FC when we played our first ever match, while participating in the AMAC Football Coaches Council Unity Cup. The competition which is used to prepare Abuja-based teams for league and cup competitions afforded us the opportunity to blood our freshly assembled squad.
Competing in Group A, our very first match on 4th March 2019 produced our first ever goal, with Sadiq Abubakar Shaibu netting a classy opener in the 1-1 draw with FC Liberty. However, we would then go on to lose the remaining two matches, falling 2-0 to Democrats FC and then 3-2 to Winner Academy.
We may have finished bottom of the group, but the experience and exposure gained from the competition are not lost on the team. The squad has been given a break for a couple of days, after which training resumes.
Highlights of the matches are available on our YouTube channel –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClw2tX5LQG2EhswGE7N1qSQ
There
were over 200 players in attendance at the Abuja Metro FC tryouts held on Saturday,
12 January 2019. The tryouts were held for the purpose of selecting players to
compete for places in the first team squad of the new football club. Players from
different parts of the country converged on the FIFA Goal Project Football
Pitch, in the Abuja National Stadium Complex for the tryouts, which were keenly
contested and saw fine display of football skills and technical ability.
Over
50 players were selected from the screening exercise and will begin training
with the team, from which the first team squad will eventually be picked. The
club is preparing to compete in the Nationwide League next season and is set to
treat Abuja football fans to an exciting football package.
Abuja
Metro FC is a brand new, supporter-owned football club with a vision to become
a model professional football club and compete at the highest level of
association football. The club is open to new members in Abuja and beyond,
through its supporter-ownership scheme, which gives registered members a
shareholding in the club.
