CCL: AS Real Bamako spy on Rivers United

Officials of Malian club, AS Real Bamako, were spotted at the weekend in Ibadan, Oyo State keeping a close watch and taking notes on the activities of reigning Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up, Rivers United FC.
The officials, one of them a cameraman, were spotted at the Lekan Salami Stadium during the club’s training session on February 4 and 24 hours later at the same venue when Rivers United lost 1-2 to Shooting Stars Sports Club in an NPFL contest.
The Chief Coach of Rivers United, Willy Udube, said he was informed of the development, which “should not be a thing of worry for our fans”.
Adobe said: “I was informed that three officials from AS Real Bamako watched both our training session last weekend.
“To be honest, this should not be a thing of worry for our fans because we knew such a thing would happen; I will say it is normal practice.
“As a former footballer myself, I saw such things happen countless times when we played on the continent.
“We have been working hard ourselves to get a good result in Mali against AS Real Bamako and I am sure we will get a positive result.”
Rivers United have never previously participated in Caf’s inter-club competitions in their one-year history.
The Pride of Rivers will be guests of AS Real Bamako on Saturday at the Stade Omnisports Modibo Keïta, Bamako in the first leg of their preliminary round clash in Africa’s apex club competition.
Rivers United’s technical manager, Stanley Eguma, has also promised a good performance when his charges file out against Malian club, AS Real Bamako.
Eguma said Saturday’s 1-2 loss to Shooting Stars Sports Club in the Nigeria Professional Football League should not dampen morale too much as it is still possible for the club to end the season on a high.
He said: “The result in Ibadan was not a good one but sitting back and feeling sorry for ourselves at this stage of the season makes no sense whatsoever.
“I am experienced enough to know that the season is still at its infancy and that we can still achieve great things this season if we do what we should.
“I am confident of this team and I know we will make Nigerians happy this weekend with a solid display against a very strong AS Real Bamako side.”