Heartland FC Chairman, Hon.Good faith Etuemena said the team would now go ahead and honour the match against Elkanemi Warriors in Maiduguri on Saturday, using only the players who have recovered from the trauma and injuries suffered in an accident on Wednesday.
The club chairman also, said that players who have not fully recovered but have volunteered to play, can come in from the bench.
There is no direct flight from Owerri to Maiduguri. To fly, you have to first go through Abuja or Lagos and those are other journey when have only one day. So, it is not possible to replace the injured players within one day, he explained.
Etuemena said the match which has suffered many postponements has caused both Heartland and the host, Elkanemi Warriors some fortune to organize and that every effort is being made to get it done with.
“Since the league board said it cannot reschedule the match longer than tomorrow Saturday,
and my players have been on the road for close to two weeks in the course of this one match, I have appealed to them (players) to try and get it done with,” he added.
“As we make this sacrifice, I want to appeal to the league board to ensure proper monitoring of this match because of the impression already created by some of the match officials who are now in Maiduguri.”
Meanwhile, Heartland have secured the help of two Maiduguri-based psychologists to work on the players before the match on Saturday.
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