CAFCC: Rivers United holds training session at Nest of Champions
..as club captain, Austin calls for home support
By Bassey Ibiatisuho
Nigerian champions, Rivers United of Portharcourt have held their first and only training session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final first leg tie against visiting Young Africans of Tanzania.
23 players took part in the session which was mostly light workouts led by Assistant Coach Fatai Osho. Their opponents are scheduled to have their training on Friday before the match on Sunday.
The Pride of Rivers are unbeaten in Uyo since the beginning of the campaign, winning two matches and drawing one and will hope to continue with the same form when they face a side they won home and away in the CAF Champions League preliminary round in 2021.
Speaking after the training session, captain of Rivers United, Festus Austin thanked Uyo fans for always supporting the team, describing the stadium as favourable to the team.
“Uyo has been a favourable ground for us, not just in the CAF Confederation Cup, even in the league. The last three seasons we’ve been having good results here so we are hopeful we will get something positive on Sunday against Young Africans.”
“We know the importance of this game to the whole country and we have set a target for ourselves to win this trophy. We assure our fans that we will not disappoint, please come out on Sunday and support us,” he appealed.
The winner of the two-leg encounter would progress into the semi-final to face either South Africa’s Marumo Gallants FC or the Pyramids FC of Egypt.
