Dr. Uchenna Iloakasi, the Chairman, Rangers Supporters Club of Enugu, said the association was making efforts to attend all the club’s home and away matches within the southern parts of the country.
Iloakasi told the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu on Friday that the plan 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 effort to honour all home matches.
Also, all away matches played around South East, South South, South West and some middle belt region will be honoured.
“This could 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.
“Supporters club is an organisation that renders selfless service of supporting Rangers Football Club and it have been very tasking and tedious rendering that service.
“These few years were the worst years as a 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 our darling 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.
“I will not end by appreciating the following people that assisted the supporters club during our period of travail: Sen. Osita Ngwu, Bishop Christian Onoh, Mr Emeka Onunze (TATA).
Others include, Me Okwy Ani, Dr Dickson Ani, Igwe Tony Orji, Prof. Asogwa, Mr Casmir Agbo and a clergy, Bishop Ebere Ani.
