Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state has dissolved the management and board of Rangers International FC of Enugu.
The Governor cited poor 2016/2017 performance, management recklessness and abuse of office as reasons for the dissolution.
He lamented that despite all commitment made to retain Rangers as pride of Igbo Football club, the management messed up the efforts.
The Governor said that before he came into office, Rangers FC, was tottering on the brink of collapse which showed that in 32 years, it won no trophy and lost all but its iconic status as one of the nation’s most respected club sides.
“However, fully conscious of what the Club represent, not only for Enugu State but the entire Igbo race, I decided to take up the challenge of revitalizing the Club and restoring it to its hitherto pre-eminent position in Nigerian and African soccer circles.
“To achieve this objective, the State Government invested a huge sum of money in the club which among other things, was used in paying all outstanding players’ and staff salaries and allowances, purchase of new players, purchase of vehicles, kits and other essential equipment and the provision of necessary logistics for the operations of the Club. I even injected my personal funds and also encouraged friends and supporters of government to support the Club.
“By the grace of God, these efforts yielded the desired results as the Club lifted the 2015/2016 Nigerian Premier League trophy- the first time it was doing so in 32 years and much to the relief and excitement of the Club’s supporters and Igbo people everywhere in the world.
“But no sooner did this happen, than the club was plunged into crisis. Bitter in-fighting, indiscipline and players’ discontent crept in. Revelations were made of illegal sales of players and money therefrom, pocketed by private persons and also, of the fact that some of the players we believed were bought in the 2015/2016, were actually on loan. All these culminated in embarrassingly, poor performances of the Club at the beginning of the 2016/2017 season.”
Governor Ugwuanyi stated that in order to ensure the total revitalization and repositioning of the Club for future challenges, “the Board and Management of Rangers Management Corporation are hereby dissolved.”
