U. J. Esuene Stadium

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]

History

The UJ Esuene Stadium was inaugurated on the 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
5 April 1999	Spain	2–0	Brazil	12,000
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
25 October 2009	Colombia	2–1	Netherlands	10,100
28 October 2009	Netherlands	2–1	Gambia	6,800
28 October 2009	Iran	0–0	Colombia	8,600
31 October 2009	Gambia	2–2	Colombia	6,100
31 October 2009	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