Ifeanyi Ubah Joins Governors With Soft Spot for the Sport; Splashes N15M on Team

Ifeanyi Ubah Joins Governors With Soft Spot for the Sport; Splashes N15M on Team

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side FC Ifeanyi Ubah has recently enjoyed the rain of cash that’s ongoing in the close season of the local league.

In the wake of their 2016 Federation Cup triumph, players of Ifeanyi Ubah FC were on Wednesday rewarded with N10 million by billionaire club owner, Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah.

The business mogul, who doubles as chairman of the Anambra State Football Association, also doled out N3m to the coaching staff, while members of the supporters club got N2m for their unwavering support to the team all through the season.

In a keenly contested game at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Sunday, the Anambra Warriors won Nasarawa United 5-4 on penalties after regulation time ended 0-0 to emerge champions of the Federations Cup.

It was a thrilling end to a remarkable season that’s saw them finish fourth on the NPFL log, and they would be making their debut appearance in the CAF Confederation Cup next year.

But Ifeanyi Ubah is not the only one to exhibit such largesse.

Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Umar Al-Makura, rewarded players and officials of Nasarawa United with cash and land gifts for reaching the final of the Federation Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by FC Ifeanyi Ubah.

Despite the prevailing recession, the governor opted to reward the team as this is the first time a club from the state will be reaching the final of the country’s oldest cup competition.

Club chairman, Isaac Dalandi, received N.5m, head coach Kabiru Dogo was given N.4 m, while the players received N200,000 each.

All the members of the team were given a plot of land each.

Also…

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike gave out N.5m to each player of Rivers United for their runner-up finish in the 2016 NPFL season, while head coach Stanley Eguma got N1m for his exertions.

Similarly, the Governor announced a trip to Madrid, Spain for all players & officials for their pre-season preparations in addition to a brand new Luxurious Bus for the football club.

The ongoing cash splash is a welcome departure from the not too distant past when the Nigerian game was fraught with severe paucity of funds.

Kudos must be given to former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu whose Enyimba FC side achieved phenomenal success on first-class sponsorship.

Our game turned a corner afterwards.