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. The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 and was opened in 1977.

History

The UJ Esuene Stadium was inaugurated on 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 shortlisted as a stadium for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and hosted eight games, including the South Korea-Nigeria quarterfinal.
The stadium has been further upgraded to include an ultra-modern electronic video-matrix scoreboard, with impressive floodlights.