Man praised for sponsoring Anambra community football league for 40 years
Emenike was a great gift to Anambra and football in particular.
Mr. Polly Emenike, who single-handedly sponsored the Nanka champions League for over 40 years, has won recognition from the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Management of Rangers International Football Club (FC) of Enugu.
Supreme News reports that both entities on Tuesday poured encomium on Emenike for the feat.
The league is for Nanka indigenes living across Nigeria.
Mkpor branch won the 40th edition of the championship on Jan. 2 after winning their final match 1-0 against Umuahia branch at the NEROS stadium in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State.
The result of the match, witnessed by Ibrahim Gusau, the president of Nigeria Football Federation, made Nkwor team six-time winners of the competition.
In his reaction, the Chairman of SWAN in Anambra, Chimezie Anaso, said that Emenike was a great gift to Anambra and football in particular.
Anaso, who led members of the association to present a pair of jerseys to football financier, said that 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 standard football stadium.
“You have been our patron for over 15 years, and your continued contributions to sports development justify that choice. We want to reassure you of our commitment to a continued partnership.
“We present to you this set of jerseys, the last in our collections, as a memento and approval of all you have been doing on this 40th sponsorship anniversary,” Anaso said
On his part, Amobi Ezeaku, the General Manager of Rangers International 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 have sponsored a tournament for 40 years without break.
He said the Nanka Champions League had provided opportunity for the youth to showcase their talents and pursue careers in football.
The Rangers general manager announced automatic slots for the best-rated four players in the competition by his clubs in the next open screening for players ahead of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.
Other groups which made presentations to the Pharmaceutical manufacturing giant were Nanka All Stars and the 11 teams that participated in the League.