By Jude Atupulazi
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and the Management of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu have showered encomiums on Polly Emenike, Chairman of NEROS Pharmaceutical for sponsoring the Nanka Champions League for 40 years.
The finals of the 40th edition of the Nanka Champions League was held on January 1 at the NEROS Stadium, Nanka, with Nkpor Branch and Umuahia branch teams squaring off.
Nkpor Branch won the game witnessed by Ibrahim Gusau, the President of Nigeria Football Federation, by 1-0, to become sixth time champions of the competition.
In their separate presentations, the stakeholders said Emenike had not only shown commitment to the development of the game but had demonstrated unequalled consistency and passion.
Chimezie Anaso, Chairman of SWAN in Anambra, said Emenike was a great gift to Anambra and football in particular.
Anaso who led members of the association to present a jersey to the football financier, said apart from sponsoring the Nanka Champions League, Emenike had single handedly sponsored the Anambra FA Cup for about two decades.
He said nothing could be more convincing about his love for sports and football in particular than the fact that he converted an ecological disaster area Nanka Erosion (NEROS) to a world standard football stadium.
‘You have been our patron for over 15 years and your continued contributions to sports development justifies that choice. We want to reassure you of our commitment to a continued partnership.
‘We present to you this set of jersey which is the last in our collections as a memento and approval of all you have been doing on this 40th Anniversary Occasion,’ he said.
For his part, Amobi Ezeaku, the General Manager of Rangers Int’l Football Club of Enugu, said the annual Nanka Champions League had impacted positively on football development in Anambra, South East and Nigeria in general.
Ezeaku who presented the Rangers FC badge to Emenike, said it was not an easy task to sponsor a tournament for 40 years without break.
He said the Nanka Champions League had provided opportunity for the youth to showcase their talent and pursue a career in football
The Rangers GM announced automatic slots for the best rated four players in the competition in their club’s next open screening for players ahead of the 2024/2025 NPFL season.
Other groups which made presentations to the professor and pharmaceutical manufacturing giant were Nanka All Stars and the 11 teams that participated in the League.
