 | |
 | |
| Full name | Udokaha Jacob Esuene Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Calabar, Nigeria |
| Coordinates | 4°58′04″N8°19′37″E / 4.9677°N 8.3269°E |
| Capacity | 16,000 |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Tenants | |
| Calabar Rovers | |
The U. J. Esuene Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Calabar, Nigeria. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Calabar Rovers and previously Dolphins F.C. [1] The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 and was opened in 1977. [2]
The UJ Esuene Stadium was inaugurated on 2 April, 1977 with a match between Benin's Bendel Insurance F.C. and newly formed Calabar Rovers of Calabar. Two weeks later, the stadium hosted an international encounter between Enugu Rangers and Tonnerre Yaoundé - a game that featured the likes of Roger Milla, Christian Chukwu and Emmanuel Okala.
Games at the 2003 All-Africa Games were also played at the U. J. Esuene Stadium in October 2003, as were Nigeria's qualifiers for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. It was also short-listed as a stadium for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. [3]
The stadium has been further upgraded to include an ultra modern electronic video-matrix scoreboard, with impressive floodlights.
| Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Attendance | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 1999 |  Zambia | 4–3 |  Honduras | 12,000 | Group F |
 Spain | 2–0 |  Brazil | |||
| 8 April 1999 | Zambia | 0–0 | Spain | 8,000 | |
| 14 April 1999 | Brazil | 4–0 |  Croatia | 12,000 | Round of 16 |
| Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Attendance | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 October 2009 |  Iran | 2–0 |  Gambia | 9,200 | Group C |
 Colombia | 2–1 |  Netherlands | 10,100 | ||
| 28 October 2009 | Netherlands | 2–1 | Gambia | 6,800 | |
| Iran | 0–0 | Colombia | 8,600 | ||
| 31 October 2009 | Gambia | 2–2 | 6,100 | ||
 New Zealand | 1–1 |  Turkey | 7,000 | Group D | |
| 5 November 2009 | Iran | 1–2 ( a.e.t. ) |  Uruguay | 3,600 | Round of 16 |
| 9 November 2009 |  South Korea | 1–3 |  Nigeria | 9,100 | Quarter-final |
Yakubu Ayegbeni, known as Yakubu, is a Nigerian football agent and also former professional footballer who played as a striker. His nickname is "The Yak".
Enyimba Football Club or simply known as Enyimba, is a Nigerian professional football club based in the city of Aba, Abia State which plays in the Nigerian Professional Football League. Their name means People's Elephant in Igbo language and is also the nickname used for the city of Aba. Founded in 1976, the club rose to prominence in the 2000s and is considered the most successful Nigerian football club as they won two African Champions League titles, nine Nigerian championships and four Federation Cups since 2001. Their most-recent league glory came in the 2022–23 season.
Dolphin Football Club was a Nigerian football team based in Port Harcourt.
The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament.
Ranchers Bees FC is a Nigerian football club based in Kaduna. Their home stadium is Ranchers Bees Stadium, a.k.a. Kaduna Township Stadium.
The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009.
Eket is one of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The name Eket or Ekid also refers to the indigenous ethnic group of the region and to their language. The Eket people use the endonym Ekid for themselves and their language, but Europeans spell and pronounce the name as "Eket".
Calabar Rovers FC are a Nigeria soccer team based in Calabar. They play their games at U. J. Esuene Stadium.
Udokaha Jacob Esuene was a Nigerian air force officer who was Military Governor of South-Eastern State between May 1967 and July 1975 during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon. He was the first governor after the state was formed in May 1967 when Eastern Region was split into East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern states.
This page provides summaries of the CAF third round matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The ten group winners from the second round were drawn into five home-and-away ties.
The 2003 All-Africa Games football – Men's tournament was the 8th edition of the African Games men's football tournament for men. The football tournament was held in Abuja, Nigeria between 4–16 October 2003 as part of the 2003 All-Africa Games.
The 2013 African U-17 Championship qualification was a men's under-17 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2013 African U-17 Championship.
Group A of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the seven groups to decide the teams which qualified for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. Group A consisted of four teams: South Africa, Congo, Nigeria, and Sudan, who played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format.
Rivers United Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that participates in the Nigerian Professional Football League, the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. The club was formed by the merger of Sharks F.C. and Dolphins F.C. in 2016. Their home stadium was the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, formerly Liberation Stadium, in Elekahia that has a seating capacity of 30,000. They moved to the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium stadium in 2020. The stadium, renovated in 2020, has a capacity of 40,000. There is also a female team, Rivers Angels F.C., which is one of the best in Nigeria and Africa.
Sunday Umaru Ngbede is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger. Ngbede won the Nigeria Professional Football League title with Plateau United during the 2016–17 season.
Ubong Friday is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Nigerian Professional Football League club Akwa United and the Nigeria B. He primarily plays as a winger.
Denis Nya is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for NPFL club, Akwa United.
The group stage of the 2007 CAF Confederation Cup was played from 21 July to 7 October 2007. A total of eight teams competed in the group stage.
The 2019 Nigeria Federation Cup was the 73rd edition of the Nigerian Federation Cup. It was held between 3 May and 28 July 2019. The competition was contested by 74 teams, all which qualified via their state championships.
Paul Bassey is a Nigerian sports journalist and sports administrator. He is also the Chairman of Akwa Ibom-based Akwa United.