Enugu Rangers: 2 reasons NPFL champions failed to qualify for CAF Champions League

Enugu Rangers lost 3-2 on aggregate to MC Alger last night in the CAF Champions League qualifier, continuing their run of never playing in Africa’s biggest club competition.

Yemi Daniel Olanrewaju, popularly known as Coach Yema, has weighed in on why Nigerian clubs struggle in continental tournaments. He is Rivers United’s assistant coach and has worked at Enyimba, where he became head coach in 2024, and with the Nigeria U-17 team and MFM FC.

He knows the Champions League and Confederation Cup group stages from the inside. Enyimba reached the 2024/25 Confederation Cup group stage under his watch, and Rivers United reached the 2025/26 Champions League group stage, where they were drawn with Pyramids, Power Dynamos and RS Berkane.

Rangers led 2-0 from the first leg in Abeokuta and were 45 minutes from the group stage, but MC Alger scored three times in the second half in Algiers.

On the same night, El-Kanemi Warriors were knocked out of the Confederation Cup, losing 2-0 to Raja Casablanca (4-2 on aggregate). Rivers United had already been eliminated in the first preliminary round, so Nigeria will have no club in the Champions League group stage.

2 reasons Enugu Rangers, NPFL clubs struggle in Continental competitions

Yema posted his reaction on X after the match, and it did not focus on tactics.

“Having qualified back-to-back for the group stage of CAF Competitions, in the CAF Confederation Cup with Enyimba and the CAF Champions League with Rivers United, I have said it that we don’t have what it takes to compete with a lot of African clubs,” he wrote.

“Truth is bitter though.”

His argument is that budgets, facilities and wages decide who can compete, and the two points below are the reasons he gives for why Nigerian clubs fall short.

Having qualified back to back for group stage of CAF Competitions, in CAF Confederation Cup with Enyimba and CAF Champions League with Rivers United, I have said it that we don’t have what it takes to compete with a lot of Africa clubs. our budgets, facilities and level nor reach… pic.twitter.com/CVy7pNFWgk

— Yemi Daniel Olanrewaju (@yemastarcoach) October 24, 2026

1. Wages and budgets

Coach Yema, 34, also added that the players and staff in Nigerian clubs are grossly underpaid.

“The wages must increase, and no team should pay less than ₦2m as monthly salaries,” he wrote.

He believes a higher wage floor would help the NPFL retain the talents and bring back players who have left for Iraq, Tanzania, Cyprus, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Rangers coach Fidelis Ilechukwu made a similar point after the first leg, speaking about the league as a whole and not just his own club.

“Will a player offered a huge salary in the Zambian league wait for a lesser offer in Nigeria?” he said in quotes revealed by Sports 247.

The coach added that on average, MC Alger players earn around 14 million a month, against a reported 1 million for the highest-paid NPFL players.

The same logic applies to El-Kanemi, who also went out on Friday.

2. Infrastructure and facilities

Yema’s second point is that local clubs must improve their infrastructure and facilities.

Rangers are the clearest example. Their home ground, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, is being renovated to meet CAF standards, so their home games have been played at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta.

Four Nigerian clubs in CAF competitions were forced to play home games away from their home ground, with only three venues nationwide approved to host continental games.

El-Kanemi hosted Raja in Ikenne, not Maiduguri, and Rivers United used Uyo because Port Harcourt’s stadium was ruled unfit. A club that plays its home ties away from its own supporters gives up part of the advantage a home leg is meant to provide.

The results in the second leg were clear as MC Alger and Raja Casablanca played in front of nearly sold-out seats, with their fans chanting from kick-off till the final whistle.

So much so that El Kanemi and Enugu Rangers failed to have an attempt on target in the away legs of their respective qualifying fixtures.

What has to change

Yema concludes that higher wages and better facilities would not only keep Nigerian players at home but also attract a few good ones from neighbouring countries.

That does not explain everything. Rangers lost a two-goal lead, and the second half in Algiers was a collapse that money alone does not explain, but the pattern is hard to ignore.