By Tony Adibe
With the commencement of the 2022/2023 Abridged Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), the Management of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu has set for itself a target of getting a continental ticket for the season.
The club’s Secretary, Barrister Ferdinand Ugwuarua and the Technical Adviser, Coach Abdul Maikaba stated this during an interaction with members of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Enugu State Chapter led by the Chairman, Comrade Gideon Iwueke of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
The Enugu Flying Antelopes will play in group B made up of Niger Tornadoes, Rivers United, Doma United, Wikki Tourist, Lobi Stars, Dakkada FC, Sunshine Stars, Bayelsa United and Abia Warriors FC. Ugwuarua said that the Rangers FC are one of the clubs that accepted the fact that there is no time to prosecute full league.
“As a matter of fact, we have prepared well for new season, more especially our first match of the season against Abia Warriors FC of Umuahia on January 15, 2023, at Awka,” Ugwuarua said. Rangers has been executing it’s home matches in it’s adopted home, in Awka, the Anambra State capital in the last two seasons of the NPFL, following reconstruction work at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu which seem to have been abandoned by the State government.
The Club’s Scribe added: “We the management of Rangers FC, regrets the inconveniences associated with the club playing away from home and assure the supporters that the club will do them proud at the adopted home.
“It is painful that we are not starting the league at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction work but we believe we will play there this season.” He noted that the club maintained it’s normal tradition of recruiting indegeneous and grassroots players with inclusion of those that were recruited outside the state.
The secretary informed Sports Journalists that the issue of the club being without a team manager since Barrister Amobi Ezeaku resigned was not in the hand of the club’s management. “Appointment of team manager is not our duty but the state government and we hope they will do that sooner than later,” Ugwuarua said.
In his comment, the Technical Adviser, Coach Maikaba said the team’s first target was to qualify from the group before thinking of the second phase. The coach said: “I am not comfortable with the abridged league but have to accept it for the league to go in line with their counterpart from other countries.
“We have a limited time to run the league and to meet up with the registration of clubs for continental league. Apart from all these issues, full league will be the best to ensure that the best clubs represented the country at the continent at the end of the season”.
According to Maikaba, the technical crew did their homework well by recruiting players in all the department of the team and replacing those that left the club. Maikaba said: “We recruited players like, Chidera Eze, Jacob John, Charles Emmanuel, Chukwudi Nwodo, Kingsley Madufo and others.”
