President Fed Cup final: We’ll round up victory against Abakaliki in first half – Kwara Utd captain boosts

By Francis Ajuonuma

The famous Onikan Stadium will come alive this afternoon as Abakaliki United of Ebonyi State and Kwara United battle each other today in what is expected to be an explosive men’s President Federation Cup final.

Both teams are yet to win the competition since it inception in 1945. However one of the teams will break this jinx this evening and this will not come easy for neither teams going by their performances on their way to the final.

To get to this stage, Kwara United defeated Bayelsa United 2-1 in the round of 16, Akwa United 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Enugu Rangers 1- in the semifinals, while Abakaliki overwhelmed Enyimba 2-0, Nasarawa United 2-1 and Ikorodu City 1-0.

However, speaking at the pre-match conference yesterday Kwara United captain, Kabir Mohammed expressed confidence that the Ilorin Warriors will carry the day as their opponent will be no match despite their giant killing might.

“Yes, they (Abakaliki United) have recorded some interesting results on their to the final but they are not a team that can stop us from winning the title this time around.

“We have prepared hard for this final and we are ready to go. We are not looking down on them but I want to say here that we will round up the victory in the first 45 minutes,” Kabir Mohammed boasted.

For counterpart, Cyril Timothy of Abakaliki United does not believe in too much talking but actions on the pitch which offers both team the opportunity to show which is the better team at the end of the encounter.

“Well, for me we have 90 minutes to prove ourselves. It’s not about talking. Our legs will do the talking and prove to them that we did not get to the final by a chance.

“We are here to play our game. We are not under any pressure, we are not scared of any team, we are competing to win and that what we do tomorrow, Saturday June 29th 2025,” he said

Speaking earlier, Abakaliki coach, Ifeanyi Onyedika, admitted that the journey to the final has been very tough and the hope to end it in great style.

“We are here to win. It has not been easy journey – very tough. We have seen the good, bad, the ugly but we are here to give our best to take the trophy to Abakaliki,” he said.