corinthiano

February 2077 We lose against Ebedei at the start of the month in what has to be the worst performance of the season, but quickly get back on track and win the remainder of the games. Kano Pillars do take advantage of it though and we will be second even if we win our game in hand. On a side note, @KristianT - Abiola is on 10 goals already Next Fixtures A tough month which will make it hard to keep close to Kano Pillars, and we start our Federation Cup campaign.

January 2077 Just when I think we are going to fade away we have another great month. Two narrow wins before the break meant we kept up with Kano Pillars and then we did really well to go to their place and earn a draw, which was almost a win as they responded to our late goal with one of their own. Katsina Utd then did us a favor by having two players sent off in the first half, which meant we strolled the game. We now sit in second but with a game in hand and I am starting to believe we can at least make a push for African football. Transfers Out Another unhappy squad player leaves for decent money. Next Fixtures A tricky game at Ebedei, but then we play 3 teams towards the bottom which gives us a chance to keep up at the top.

December 2076 We dropped a few more points and the loss against Abia Comets was unfortunate, but if you told me at the start of the season that we would be 3 points off the top at the halfway stage I would have bitten your hand off. Transfers Out We make some money on squad players, does leave us with less depth but we have enough coverage to be OK. Next Fixtures The league takes a break for AFCON in January and we come back from it with two huge games against 1st and 3rd place.

November 2076 No chance against Enyimba Aba, but we do well to get 7 points from 3 games after that. We do lose our top spot but only on Goal Difference. A particular highlight is Solomon Abiola cementing a starting spot and already getting 6 goals this season! Transfers In Out Most signings were in anticipation of us losing players with agreed deals in the next two months, with back-up goalies coming in as well as good options in defence and midfield. The only addition to the first team was Wandile Nzimande, but he is not as good as my scouts made him out to be. Good versatile midfielder and already a starter for us. Another versatile player, will compete for a spot in defence primarily, but can do a job in midfield too. Good RB picked up on the cheap. Next Fixtures A tough fixture list in December and I think we are going to struggle to keep up with Kano Pillars and Enyimba Aba from now.

October 2076 We finally lose our first game, but not before we put in some decent performances which still see us in 1st. Transfers In Only brought in a promising 18 year old from South Africa on a free. Next Fixtures Will be interesting to see how we bounce back from our first defeat, especially as we host Enyimba Aba first thing.

August/September 2076 Well, I thought we could start well, but I certainly didnt imagine we would start THAT well. The first 4 games I would expect us to win, but then to beat Kano Pillars relatively comfortably and then absolutely dominate second place Katsina Utd at their place was wild. I am under no illusions that this will not last all season but it is an amazing start from this team. Next Fixtures A mixture of tough and winnable games here, lets see how long this run can go on for.

2076/77 Season Preview The off season is a lot shorter in Nigeria, which is nice but didnt really leave us with much time for signings. We made a couple good additions, but the media still thinks we should be down there fighting against relegation. That is also what the board expect but I think we can have another comfortable mid table finish. Transfers In Out A huge clear out as we start reducing the size of the squad. On the incoming front I focused on free signings as I only wanted to pay for key players. - which was the case for Sibabi-Gueli. However I did manage to balance that with the sale of a couple of defenders to Katsina Utd which helps with our finances. There are a couple of additions to the first team. Not much better than what we had but was available for free. Did allow us to sell Okeke as well. The big signing of the window slots in at DLP for us and pushes Mukudy Antony to defence. Not an automatic started but a decent option in midfield for us. I wasnt going to sign a striker but somehow a Malaga youth product appeared on our radar and I had to get the Spaniard in. Best XI We are looking more solid at the back but I still think we are light in midfield. Initial Fixtures There are some winnable games in our first fixtures so hopefully we start well.

I wouldnt mind that!

2075/76 West African Review CAF Champions League Disappointing year from West Africa as only 5 teams make it here, out of which only ASEC Mimosas and Hearts of Oak make it into the Quarter Final. Hearts of Oak get all the way to the final but lose on penalties to ES Tunis, who win their 13th trophy. CAF Confederation Cup 7 sides at this stage again, with 4 making it past here, including unfancied FC San Pédro from the Ivory Coast. FC San Pédro's joy was short lived as they were thrashed by Sundowns, who almost completed a West African hattrick, but were denied by Génération Foot in the final, who won their 2nd Confederation Cup in 3 year. West African League Rankings Somewhat of a shocker as Nigeria move down a couple of places in the rankings and are now the 3rd best league in the region behind Senegal. Guinea and Togo also swap places down the middle of the West African leagues. League Champions Most noteworthy news is Banjul Hawks equaling Real de Banjul for most league wins in The Gambia. Former Champions MC Breweries: Couldnt bounce back to the top flight as they finish 7th in the second tier. Lost in the First Round of the LFA Cup too. Kamboi Eagles: Finally back after 9 season in the unplayable leagues and did well to finish 6th. Nô Pintcha da Brava: This has to be the worst season in the save for them as they finish second bottom of Liga Brava and are knocked out in the Semi-Final of the Taça Brava AFC Nhacra: They finish 3rd again and are knocked out in the Quarter Final of the Cup. Ayéma FC: Shocking season again as they go into the Relegation Group and finish only 7 points from the drop. CNEPS Excellence: A disappointingly massive 16 points off the top in 4th, but do win a domestic cup double. Under the circumstances also did well to get to the Group Stage of the Champions League. Banjul Utd: Better again this season as they finish 5th. ASN NIGELEC: Great season in the Superligue as they finish 3rd, but disappointing first round exit in the Coupe du Niger again. Unisport: Whipping boys of the Championship Group with 3 points from 10 games. CFFEB: Much better season as they finish 3rd and beat CF Rahimo in the Coupe du Faso final on penalties. Flamme Olympique: Great season as they win their 3rd Ligue 1 title! Avenir AC: Better in Ligue 1 as they finish 3rd. Also won their 3rd Coupe du Mali title and will be back in the Confederation Cup. Cosmos: The squad was dismantled, which is a real shame as they were miles off ASEC Mimosas in 2nd. The Confederation Cup title defence was not great either as they finished 3rd in their Group.

He really does, think he'll feature quite a bit next season already!

Literally as I press continue...think it is not a bad deal, $275k to more than double capacity should yield quick returns.

2075/76 Season Review I am amazed we managed to get the team clicking so well so quickly, from where Kojo took over at the beginning of the season it looked like it would be a season battling relegation but quickly turned into much welcomed mid table mediocrity. In the Federation Cup it would have been nice to go a little further but we met the boards objectives with a Last 16 appearance. Squad by Appearances Thats a big squad, and I am only showing the players making an appearances...some players were pretty much automatic starters but we did rotate a lot over the course of the season as we have a reasonably balanced squad too. Best Eleven Top Performers Our most consistent striker, with almost a goal contribution per game. Didnt play as much as I would like due to injuries, but was decent when on the field. Struggling to keep him though and he could leave on a free in a month. He came to life in the latter part of the campaign with some crucial goals, be interesting to see if he can carry that on consistently as his attributes arent great. Finances The money we lost this year was almost our net spend, so if we only invest what we can in the transfer market we should be OK financially. Progress That was a very positive season in Nigeria and I can see us making good progress with Ifeanyi Ubah again next season, but at this stage I would still be open to a move if a 2.5 star eligible team became availble.

May 2076 We lose to City F.C. but then recover well to win our last two matches and finish just inside the top 10. In the Federation Cup our journey ends as soon as we play a NPFL side in the last 16.

April 2076 In the Federation Cup two easy wins to get us into the Third Round, which included the clubs largest ever win against Calabar Rovers. We had tougher fixtures in the NPFL, but still managed to win 2 out 4 games and climb a couple of place to be just inside the top half. The game at Katsina Utd was a rollercoaster ride as we led 3-1 at half time before letting them equalize with 10 minutes to go. Suleiman then showed up with an excellent shot from outside the area to give us a well deserved 3 points! Youth Youth normally isnt a focus on this save but this guy just cam through and he could be good! Will go straight into our first team squad next season and could even be a starting forward. Next Fixtures Just three games to go in the NPFL for us to try and stay in the top half. We play second tier side Ekiti Utd in the Third Round of the Federation Cup and if we go through it will be nice to carry on our campaign without the distraction of the league.

March 2076 It was tougher in the NPFL this month whcih slowed down our momentum. Next Fixtures We start our Federation Cup campaign this month against a lower league side and we have some tough games in the NPFL again.

February 2076 Our good form continues and a couple of narrow wins against our close competitors sees us move up 3 places into 12th. Next Fixtures This will be a tougher month with most games against teams in the top half of the table.

January 2076 That was unexpected, we keep the good form going and get the first perfect month at the club. Safe to say relegation is not on our minds anymore Transfers Out Another winger we dont need gone, this time no drama from the squad. Next Fixtures A tough game at Adamawa Utd before a couple of games against teams just above us. If we continue our good form we should shoot up the table.

December 2075 Well we certainly have improved! We played well against Katsina Utd, but conceded late on to go winless in 11, but going to bottom side JNR Danburam F.C. was just what we needed. We didnt play well but managed to win and that was the catalyst for us to put in some great performances which now see us 7 points above the relegation zone. Transfers Out Sold this guy because he is a right winger and I dont have those in my formation, which led the whole squad to immediately demand I sign a right winger as the "squad lacked depth" ,,,luckily a few wins meant everything was forgotten. Next Fixtures We should beat Rarara F.C., but then will do well to get points in the next two games.

Definitely, and we seem to have turned things around a bit I think Nigeria will be fun, no foreign player limit, quite a bit of money in the league...perfect for squad building

October/November 2075 A less than ideal start and I am wondering if this was the right move...defeats against Ebedei and Kano Pillars are understandable but we really needed to beat Delta Force. The gap is already at 5 points and we are not looking good. Transfers In Out Kojo's arrival coincided with the mid-season transfer window, which really isnt in mid-season...but a good opportunity to fix the squad. There is a lot of work to do with the squad, we have 70 players, which is way too much, but we also dont have the necessary quality for this league, so I brought in as many players as I could whilst selling those playerswho were either unhappy or not good enough, but it'll take a few transfer windows until we get the numbers down to what we would like. On the incoming side some players that can hopefully help us climb from the bottom. Our starting GK Kehinde Ndunka wanted to leave so we needed a replacement, Charles is actually a very good improvement. Not a spring chicken but does improve our RB position. Young with bags of potential, but already good enough to be our starting DLP. The Ugandan international was available for Free so made sense to sign him, is our starting BBM. We really needed an AP and Stephane was the best I could find, so we splashed the cash on him. Next Fixtures A busy December ahead of us, we'll need to win the games against the teams in the bottom if we are going to make a push to survive.

Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club are a club from Nnewi in Southeastern Nigeria, a city of with a population of just under 400 thousand people. The club is a result of a couple of purchases and city moves. The club was known as Football Club of Benin City until it was purchased by Chief Gabriel Chukwuma and renamed Gabros Internationl Football. Then in 2015 Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah purchased the club, moved it to Nnewi and conveniently renamed it after himself. Other than being a senator he is also a wealthy businessman and owns Capital Oil and Gas Limited. Seems like he is a nice fellow as there was an assassination attempt on him in September 2022 . He is not on the board anymore, which makes sense as he would be way too old. The club is know for being a few of the well run provate clubs in Nigeria. Pre-Game they were a decent first tier size until being relegated in 2021 and not being promoted back, but they do have a Federation Cup title to their name. In-game they have been primarily a mid-table first tier side that dips into the second tier every now and then. They are in the relegation places right now which is why their manager was sacked. They are only 1.5 stars potential and probably not a priority for Kojo, but there were really decent budgets on offer and the finances are listed as secure, which could be a positive move in what seems to be a tight league. They play their games at the Ifeanyi Ubah International Stadium, which according to wikipedia has 18 thousand seats, but only 3 thousand in FM. Judging by the picture I do trust Wikipedia a bit more. The board are looking to build a new stadium though which would be great. Assistant XI Looks to be a balanced team and squad, be interesting to see how we stack up against the rest of the league. Top Rated Players Solid defender, was deemed surplus to requirements and put on the transfer list for some reason. That has been fixed. Another good defender. Good goalkeeper, we should be solid defensively...he does want to move to a bigger club though. Finances Looks good, seems like TV revenue in Nigeria is good which means most clubs are sound financially. Initial Fixtures It has been a tough start for the club in what is a long league compared to others in West Africa. Firs few fixtures will be tough so hopefully we can pick up some points.

2074/75 West African Review CAF Champions League A very strong 9 teams at this stage here, but they did not do well in the Group Stage with only 3 going through. It was almost an Ivorian double in African, but Al-Ahly edged ASEC Mimosas on penalties to win a record extending 14th title. CAF Confederation Cup 7 sides again, with unfancied teams from West Africa, as well as a surprise appearances by a Mozambican team, who got trounced. 4 teams make it into the Group Stage. We all know what happened here and Cosmos walked to a comfortable first continental trophy. West African League Rankings Very little movement this season, with only The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau switching places towards the bottom. League Champions No new champions other than Kojo's Cosmos in Ivory Coast! Former Champions MC Breweries: Straight back down to the second tier as they finish 10th and lose the promotion playoff. Out in the first round of the LFA Cup as well. Kamboi Eagles: Another season spent in the unplayable leagues. Nô Pintcha da Brava: Disappointing season again as they finish 2nd in Liga Brava and are knocked out in the Semi Final of the Taça Brava. AFC Nhacra: A bit better again as they finish 3rd, but are knocked out early in the cup again. Ayéma FC: Shocking season as they go into the Relegation Group and finish only 7 points from the drop. CNEPS Excellence: 2nd in Ligue 1, no national cups and a Group Stage exit at the Confederation Cup. Banjul Utd: Big drop as they finish 10th in the First Division. ASN NIGELEC: Slight drop in the Superligue as they finish 8th and terrible in the Coupe du Niger as they are knocked out in the First Round. Unisport: Decent again in the Championship as they finish in 5th. CFFEB: Poor season as they finish 6th and lose out in the Last 16 of the Coupe du Faso. In Africa a tough draw saw them being knocked out by Pyramids FC in the First Round of the Confederation Cup. Flamme Olympique: Slight drop from last season as they finish 4th, but only 5 points from the top. They also almost made it into the CAF Confederation Cup Group Stages, but narrowly lost out to Yeggo Foot in the Second Round. Avenir AC: Couldnt keep up with the demands of continental football, so whilst they made it to the Group Stages of the Champions League they only finished in 6th in Ligue 1 and were knocked out in the Semi Final of the Coupe du Mali.

Chapter 14 - Nigeria Nigeria is a country in West Africa that borders Niger to the North, Chad to the Northeast, Cameroon to the East and Benin to the West. With a population of over 230 million it is the most populous country in African and 6th in the World. Its capital is Abuja in the center of the country, but Lagos is the biggest city and economic hub. Its metropolitan area has around 21 million inhabitants and is the biggest in Africa. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups and 500 languages, but the main three comprising around 60% of the population are the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. English is the official language of the country. There were several kingdoms in Nigeria before colonization, with the most notable the Kingdom of Nri, which was consolidated in the 10th century and lost sovereignty under the British in 1911. The Portuguese were the first European explorers in Nigeria and renamed the city of Eko into Lagos, but it was the British the took rule over Nigeria around 1851, beginning with city of Lagos until joining the Souther and Northern Nigerian Protectorates in 1914. British rule lasted until 1954 when Nigeria declared self-rule, before full independence in 1960. The first government of Nigeria was a coalition of conservative parties, but the perceived imbalance and corruption in the government led to coupe d'etat and civil war in 1966. The war lasted 30-month and started when an Eastern Government declared a Republic of Biafra independent from the federal state of Nigeria. A combination of autocratic and military leadership followed for the next years until 1979 when a Second Republic was put into place. That didnt last long though and military dictatorship returned in 1983, with a struggle to return to democracy until 1999, Since then there has been shift in power between parties and a stronger parliament in the country. Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and 31st in the World by GDP., how ever GDP per capita is lower than South Africa, Egypt and Morocco due to greater inequality. Oil is a huge source of income for the country, but it has been able to develop a strong financial sector, with several of its banks operating internationally and is a leader in energy power, pharmaceuticals and entertainment. Tourism in the country is largely centered around events due to the ample amount of ethnic groups. Tourism has gone down recently due to the rise of Boko Haram in the country and it is not viewed as a safe destination. Nigeria does have a mix, of forest, beaches and urban tourism, such as the Obudu mountains and its Obudu Mountain Resort. Football in Nigeria Football is the most popular sport in Nigeria, being introduced by the British in 1904 and becoming a national sport by 1950. Several players of Nigeria play in Europe and it is one of the most successful sides in Africa. Pre-game they reached the last 16 of the World Cup 3 times and won the Africa Cup of Nations 3 times. They have done even better in game with a 4th place finish in 2054 and an additional 4 AFCONs. The Nigerian Professional Football League was founded in 1972. Pre-game there hasnt been a really dominant side, with Enyimba Aba the biggest winners with 8 titles and also African success. In-game the league has been dominated by two sides, Kano Pillars and Enyimba Aba who have won all but 6 titles. Kano Pillars dominated for a long time and now have most titles at 33, but Enyimba Aba have won the last 9 straight titles. With so few winners it means there is actually a decent choice of clubs, with Katsina Utd, Kwara Utd, Ebedei, Adamawa Utd and Warri Wolves all 2.5 star teams that make it into Africa quite often and have not woin the title yet. Ideally I would like Kojo to get one of those jobs, but we woould consider 2 star jobs and potentially 1.5 star ones.

2074/75 Season Review Smashed it this season, with an impressive 25 wins out 26. We managed to break the record for most points, most wins and most goals, including most goals by a player in a season as Samson Yussuf netted well over a goal a game, so whilst ASEC Mimosas are the dominant side we hold the most single-season records . To complement that we had a great campaign in the Confederation Cup and quite comfortably won both Cosmos and Kojo's first continental trophy! Squad by Appearances We were lucky in avoiding longer injuries to our key players, so the core of the team remained relatively intact. We did have good back-ups though for the occasional need. Awards MTN Ligue 1 CAF Confederation Cup Unsurprisingly we dominated the awards across Ligue 1 and the Confederation Cup, especially our main man Samson Yussuf. Top Performers What a player! Aristide Ouattara is a great servant to the club but the step up to Samson was clear this season as he is just clinical up front, scoring an amazing 39 goals in 30 appearances! Another signing we got absolutely spot on, I hadnt found such a good attacking full-back in a while and they really make the difference in our tactic, as his 11 assists testify. Coffi has had another great season, his 7th with the club in which he made the AP spot his own. Finances Safe to say a good year financially with the club well set-up for at least 3-5 seasons. Progress So our longest spell at a club has come to an end with mixed feelings. On one hand it is a shame to leave the club with the ownership changes and new stadium move which would have lead to good period of domination of the club. On the other hand Kojo leaves the club really feeling like it has been transformed on all levels, from the players, infrastructure and even the reputation raise from 1.5 to 2.5 stars. Will be interesting to see if they have a decent spell now or if ASEC Mimosas will go back to winning titles every year. We only have two countries to go, with Nigeria the last step before Kojo heads back home!

Thanks! Definitely worth the wait