Chukwu tasks Enugu govt on Rangers’ avenue, hall of fame

He was all smiles at the end of Enugu Rangers’ 4-0 defeat of El Kanemi Warriors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium on Sunday. The victory gave the team their first Nigerian Professional Football League win since 1984.

Christian Chukwu was the last man to win the competition as coach of the Flying Antelopes and he could not hide his joy that his darling club repeated the feat, even if it took 32 years to achieve that.

And for that achievement, Chukwu wants the Enugu State government to immortalize the name of the club
because the entire players and the technical crew did so well and nothing would be too much to compensate them with for their efforts.

“We need a good example for others. It will be great If government can have something like ‘Rangers Avenue’ somewhere in Enugu and then the entire team should be well compensated. Those who have done well in the past should also be remembered with a Hall of fame exclusively for Rangers.

“This team is a big team and the teeming supporters cut across all parts of the federation. I am so elated that this is happening because we have waited for so long,” Chukwu said.

Chukwu, who is also the technical director of the club, revealed that the team did not plan to win the Nigeria Football Professional League this season, but only took the opportunity that came its way.

He said: “We decided to start with young new players together with a new coach Imama Amapakabo, who is also a young man. After Kelechi left, we decided he (Imama) should continue. Our target was to start a building process and along the line the boys gained so much confidence and somehow we decided to go all the way.

“The governor has been so wonderful to the team and it is important to state that he played a huge role by saying yes to almost all our needs. This is a big one to the fans too because they waited for 32 years for this trophy.”