Dr Uchenna Iloakasi, the Chairman of Rangers Supporters Club in Enugu, has revealed that the association is making concerted efforts to attend all of the club’s home and away matches within the southern parts of the country.
According to Iloakasi, this plan can only be achieved through the collective efforts of the club’s stakeholders.
He stated that the supporters club is gearing up seriously for the upcoming season and making every effort to honour all home matches, as well as all away matches played around South East, South-South, South West, and some middle belt regions.
Iloakasi also mentioned that achieving this goal would require the cooperation and support of the Rangers management and the state government.
The supporters club is also reaching out to other stakeholders who are willing to support them in their efforts to cheer Rangers to victory.
Dr Iloakasi further explained that being a supporters club member is a selfless service of supporting Rangers Football Club, which has been very tasking and tedious.
He recounted how the past few years were the worst years for the supporters club members due to the precarious situation they found themselves in.
During his tenure as the chairman of the Rangers supporters club, Rangers started playing all their home matches away from the cathedral, first at Nnewi and now at Awka.
Dr 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 their darling team.
At a time, they were sponsoring themselves to away matches like the match they played against Heartland at Owerri.
He also mentioned that they had travelled to Uyo to support Rangers and came back that night because they were given only 50,000 by the then management.
It was so unfair, but they had to source funds from friends, family members, their pastor, a few of their patrons, and a few of their members.
They made their journeys with their grandmother’s coaster bus on a few occasions they got stranded on the way and helpless, but God took control.
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Dr. Iloakasi expressed his belief that things would change under the new General Manager, Mr. Amobi Ezeaku.
Playing away from home was not only bad for the supporters club but also the players, management, and technical crew.
The supporters club travelled from Enugu in the morning and returned about 9 p.m. from Awka whenever Rangers played their home match and, on some occasions, later.
This they did, bearing in mind the security situation of the South East and the country in general, with the fact that they did not have a good and comfortable bus.
Finally, Dr. Iloakasi appreciated the following people who assisted the supporters club during their period of travail: Sen. Osita Ngwu, Bishop Christian Onoh, Mr. Emeka Onunze (TATA), Me Okwy Ani, Dr Dickson Ani, Igwe Tony Orji, Prof. Asogwa, Mr. Casmir Agbo, and a clergy, Bishop Ebere Ani.