It was a festival of memories as former Enyimba and Heartland players, known as legends, came together for a football game at the Enyimba Stadium on Thursday, 13 January 2022.
The occasion was graced by the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. The event also had other dignitaries and former Super Eagles players and famous coaches in attendance.
Uche Okechukwu, Bethel Orji, Mobi Oparaku, Emeka Nwanna, Onyekachi Okonkwo, Ogbonnaya Okemiri, Uche Okechukwu, Kalu Uche and other legends were in attendance and played too.
Emeka Nwanna came back to haunt his former side when he scored twice as a second half substitute to lead Heartland FC legends to a 2-1 victory.
Kalu Uche rolled back the years and almost got a late equalizer but his freekick came off the post amid missed chances by Enyimba legends. Ibe Osueke had a chance to restore parity in the final minutes of the game when he got a sumptuous cross from Kalu Uche but he could not jab into an empty net as fans roared in disbelief.
After the game, the legends had a night event at Terminus Hotel. The event formally started at 8:43pm with a prayer from coach Imo Nduka, a veteran coach who trained many of the legends.
Speaking at the event, Emeka Ifejeagwa told a story about how attendance at Kelechi Emeteole’s burial stirred the enthusiasm for the union of Enyimba and Iwuanyanwu Legends.
He said that Rangers FC legends from the 60’s and 70’s came in uniforms which shows they are still united. Hence the idea of having former Falcons/Enyimba and Iwuanyanwu/Heartland legends union came to the fore.
The president of the association is Bethel Orji, the first captain of Enyimba. The Enyimba legends team was captained by Uche Okechukwu and coached by King Joe