Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The General Manager and Chief Executive Officer (GM/CEO) of Rangers International Football Club, Amobi Ezeaku, has said that the club is a global brand rather than being described as Enugu club.
Ezeaku said this while featuring on Ikengaonline monthly Town Hall interactive session with the theme, ‘The Resurgence of Enugu Rangers and The Future of Football in the South-East.’
“When we go to play in Kano we have large crowd of followers from the North; when we play in Lagos we have large followers, everywhere we go we see large crowd of supporters.
“The last time we played continental football, we also noticed that Rangers have fans; so, the club followers are found all over the world,” he said.
The general manager recalled that the club was formed after the Nigerian Civil War in 1970 as part of the reintegration process of the Igbos, adding that Rangers was a symbol of South-Eastern Nigeria.
“Rangers is an offshoot of the civil war formed as part of the reintegration process.
“If we play in any state of the South-East, we have more fans than even the home team; be it Heartland in Owerri or Eyimba in Aba, we witness massive support base,” Ezeaku said.
He said that the club presently under his watch since August 2023 has taken measures to make it self sustaining through private sector partnerships.
According to him, this is because of “my belief that sports can best be run under private sector partnership due to the huge funding involved.”
He commended Governor Peter Mbah for his massive support for the club, adding that his commitment to Rangers was unparalleled.
“When I returned back to Rangers last year August, the governor promised us that before the end of the year, Rangers would return to the Cathedral.
“And in December 28, 2024, the governor made good his promise and the ‘flying antelopes’ returned to base after two years of absence,” he said.
He also said that since the return of Rangers to the stadium the fortunes of the club have changed including the fan base at the stadium.
“Today we are sitting on top of the 2023/24 Nigerian Premiere Football League (NPFL) with four points ahead of the second placed team.
“Also, one of our players has been invited to the National team, the Super Eagles. To me that is a big boost to the team,” he said.
Ezeaku said that his target was to make Rangers International Football club to be at par with clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and so on.
