The fear of losing to an amateur team many said led Enugu Rangers to abandoning their State FA Cup final against Coal City FC few weeks back, leaving the outcome of the match inconclusive. However, after few deliberations, the State FA have finally named Coal City as the 2023/24 Enugu State FA Cup champions, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The declaration came in the wake of the abrupt ending of the final match on March 30, 2024 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium as Rangers International refused to go into penalty shootouts after playing a one-all draw in full-time. This made the game to end in an unceremonious manner leaving the FA with a big decision to make.
After a long wait, the State FA finally made their decision against a replay firm, thereby triggerring the rule of the competition which states that “in a situation where a team stages a walkout, the other team should be declared the winner after 48 hours.
Speaking to the media after the FA presented the cup to the winners on Saturday at the UNEC Stadium, coach of Coal City FC Ani Star lauded;the FA for their bold step
“We told the FA to do the right thing, we’re happy they did and we are very happy that we are the champions. The rule is; immediately after the game you go straight to penalties, rangers didn’t want to play penalties, definitely the victory was given to Coal City United.”
By Oluwayemi Omolagba