Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Chairman of Enugu Rangers Supporters Club, Dr Uchenna Iloakasi, has promised that the club would attend all the club’s home and away matches within the southern parts of the country.
Iloakasi gave the assurance in Enugu, adding that this could only be achieved through the collective efforts of the club’s stakeholders.
He said the supporters club was gearing up seriously for the upcoming season and making every efforts to attend all Rangers home matches in Awka, Anambra State untill the team returns to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu.
According to him, also, all away matches played around the South-East, South-South, South-West and some middle belt region would be honoured.
“However, this can only be achieved with the collective efforts of the supporters and support from the Rangers management and the state government.
“We are also interacting with some stakeholders who are willing to support us in our efforts to always cheer Rangers to victory,” he said.
He said the supporters club was an organisation that renders selfless service of supporting Rangers Football Club and that it had been very tasking and tedious rendering that service.
“These few years were the worst years as supporters club member because of the precarious situation we found ourselves.
“Immediately I came in as the chairman of Rangers supporters club, Rangers started playing all their home matches away from the Cathedral, first at Nnewi and now at Awka,” Iloakasi said.
Iloakasi said that the worst of it all was when the club was given about N20,000 to travel to Nnewi and back to support the team.
“At a time, we were sponsoring ourselves to away matches like the match we played against Heartland at Owerri.
“Could you believe that we traveled to Uyo to support Rangers and came back that night because we were given only 50,000 by the then management.
“It was so unfair but we had to source for funds from friends, family members, my pastor, few of our patrons and few of our members.
“We make our journeys with our grand mother coaster bus on few occasions that got stranded on the way and helpless but God took control,” the chairman said.
Iloakasi said that he believed that things would change under the new General Manager, Mr Amobi Ezeaku.
“Playing away from home was so bad not only to the supporters club but also the players, management, and technical crew.
“The supporters club travel from Enugu in the morning and return about 9 p.m. from Awka whenever Rangers is playing their home match and in some occasions later.
“This we do, bearing in mind the security situation of the South-East, the country in general with the fact that we do not have a good and comfortable bus,” the chairman said.
