The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Akwa United FC

  • Yobe Desert fans force referees, officials to refund bribe

    One of the FIFA graded referees (name withheld) and some match officials had a dreadful time in Damaturu after fans of the home team, Yobe Desert Football Club forced them to return money allegedly collected as bribe to favour their team in the last home match defeat to Akwa United FC.

    The match which was played on Thursday last week saw Desert fans fuming with anger after the game as the referee denied them a last minute equalizer.

    It took police tear gas to disperse the irate crowd at the stadium as many of the fans wanted the head of the referee on the gallows.

    Investigation however revealed that some of the fans followed the referees and other match officials to their hotel rooms and collected N1 million cash from them for denying them victory at home after collecting money from the club.

    Former chairman of the Supporters Club, who is popularly known as Yellow and some of the fans who spoke with our correspondent confirmed the cash refund from the match officials.

    Read Also: NPFL: Abia Warriors whip Yobe Desert Stars 3-1

    “We followed them to the hotel and collected the some of N900, 000 cash from the referee, his linesmen and other match officials. We asked them to bring back our money since they denied us victory. The referee rushed to his room and brought out N300, 000 in an envelope. The two linesmen brought N200,000 each. The match commissioner with two other people returned  N100,000 each. We collected all this in cash. The other one hundred thousand was yet to be delivered to the owner making it one million naira,’ one of the fans informed.

    Our correspondent gathered that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)  is characterized with allegations of bribery between clubs and match officials, a situation that has remain one of the biggest headache of the League Management Company (LMC), the regulators of the NPFL.

    The Nation checks also gathered that in most cases, the match officials are accommodated and their feeding and transportation at the expense of the home team all in an effort to get favorable officiating.

     

  • Dana Air extends Akwa United sponsorship deal

    Dana Air  has extended its multi-million sponsorship deal with Uyo based Akwa United FC of Akwa Ibom State for the 2018/19 League season.

    Speaking at a brief ceremony in the conference room of the Godswill Akpabio International stadium, the Media and Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said the carrier was excited to continue what it started last year.

    He said: “We  are back again to extend what we started last year. We believe in Akwa United and the club actually did well last season and looks good for the next season.”

    ”We are also committed to developing sports particularly football in Nigeria. We are the first airline to have taken this step towards making our league glamorous and we hope other credible organizations will follow because we believe that our league can actually get to that level.’’

    Speaking further Kingsley said, ” for us at Dana Air, it’s not just about flying to Akwa Ibom state, but contributing positively to the growth and development of the state.”

    The Dana Air spokesman also congratulated Nigerians and the super Eagles on their qualification for AFCON 2019 in Cameroun, saying ‘we are proud of the Super Eagles of Nigeria for bringing  glory to our country Nigeria and for encouraging us to continue to believe in our greatness.’’

    Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of Akwa United, Elder Paul Bassey described Dana Airlines as worthy partners and expressed delight that the contract has been extended for another year.

    “We are particularly grateful to Dana Airlines for this amazing partnership with our club. This partnership has relieved us of the stress of tedious road travels to league matches especially the northern and western parts of this country”.

    Read Also: Dana Air introduces smart booking

    “The success story of Dana Airlines in the Nigerian air space in the last ten years is a clear testimony of your commitment to Nigerians and we are proud to be associated with Dana Airlines through this sponsorship agreement “.

    “We will be going into a new NPFL season confident that we will do well to bring glory to all our fans, supporters as well as Dana Air for identifying  with and staying by us,”Bassey said.

    Dana Air recently celebrated 10 years in Nigeria’s airspace with a record breaking load factor, an unrivaled on-time performance, world class in-flight service and customer-centric products and services

     

  • Dana Air extends Akwa United sponsorship deal

    A Nigerian carrier, Dana Air, has extended its multi-million naira sponsorship deal with the Uyo based Akwa United FC of Akwa Ibom for the 2018/19 Nigeria Premier League season.

    The airline’s Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, confirmed the development on Friday in Lagos.

    Ezenwa said that the deal was inked recently during a brief ceremony at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

    He said: “We are back again to extend what we started last year. We believe in Akwa United and the club actually did well last season and looks good for the next season.

    ”We are also committed to developing sports, particularly football in Nigeria.

    “We are the first airline to have taken this step toward making our league glamorous, and we hope other credible organisations will follow because we believe that our league can actually get to that level.”

    According to him, Dana Air is not just about flying to Akwa Ibom, but contributing positively to the growth and development of the state.

    Read Also: Dana Air partners group for Nigerian economic summit

    He also congratulated Nigerians and the Super Eagles on their qualification for AFCON 2019 in Cameroon.

    “We are proud of the Super Eagles of Nigeria for bringing glory to our country and for encouraging us to continue to believe in our greatness,” Ezenwa said.

    Also, the Chairman of Akwa United, Paul Bassey, described Dana Air as worthy partners and expressed delight that the contract had been extended for another year.

    “We are particularly grateful to Dana Air for this amazing partnership with our club.

    “This partnership has relieved us of the stress of tedious road travels to league matches, especially the Northern and Western parts of this country.

    “The success story of Dana Air in the Nigerian air space in the last 10 years is a clear testimony of your commitment to Nigerians.

    “We are proud to be associated with Dana Airlines through this sponsorship agreement.

    “We will be going into a new NPFL season confident that we will do well to bring glory to all our fans, supporters as well as Dana Air for identifying with and staying by us,” Bassey said.

  • Akwa United to reverse Nigeria’s failure in CAF Confederation Cup – Coach

    Akwa United to reverse Nigeria’s failure in CAF Confederation Cup – Coach

    Abdu Maikaba, Coach of Uyo-based Akwa United FC on Wednesday said his team would reverse the disappointing records of Nigerian clubs in the Africa Football Confederation (CAF) Confederation Cup with an excellent performance.

    Maikaba said that the team would work in synergy with other clubs to achieve success.

    He said that working with teams like Enyimba was imperative for greater and better results considering the former’s excellent record in the championship.

    The Akwa United’s coach also said he would not undermine the contributions of clubs with abysmal records so as to come out good for the cup

    “While teams like Enyimba will give us ideas on how to make success, the ones that failed will reveal to us their mistakes so that we can work on them.’’

    Akwa United won the 2017 AITEO Cup by beating Niger Tornadoes 3-2 on penalties in Lagos on Oct. 15.

    They will be representing Nigeria at the 2018 CAF’s Confederation Cup.

    NAN

  • Results of match day 19 fixtures in 2016/2017 NPFL

    Results of match day 19 fixtures in 2016/2017 NPFL

    Following are the results of eight of the 10 Match Day 19 fixtures of the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), played on Wednesday:

    FC IfeanyiUbah 2-1 Shooting Stars FC

    Abia Warriors FC 2-0 Wikki Tourists FC

    Plateau United FC 3-0 Katsina United FC

    Niger Tornadoes 1-0 Kano Pillars FC

    Enyimba International FC 1-0 Remo Stars FC

    Lobi Stars FC 3-1 Sunshine Stars FC

    El-Kanemi Warriors FC 1-0 ABS FC

    Akwa United FC 2-0 MFM FC

  • Akwa United FC resume training

    Akwa United FC resume training

    Players and technical crew of Akwa United FC have officially returned to the club’s camp in preparation for the upcoming Globacom NPFL season after embarking on a Christmas break some weeks back.

    The team, which officially resumed its activities for the new calendar year on January 3, 2014 witnessed a low turnout of players for its first training session due to late rrivals of some of the club’s stars.

    Head coach of the Uyo based side, Patrick Udoh in a chat with futaa.com confirmed that only few players were at the training session on Thursday but hoped to have a full house before the weekend elapses as most of the players travelled outside the state for the festive break.

    “We have officially resumed but the training session witnessed a low turnout of players.

    “Majority of them travelled outside the state to be with their family for the Christmas and new year celebrations but we hope to have a full house by this weekend.

    “However, those who are back have been having individual work outs under my watchful eyes to get back into shape for the tough task ahead,” Udoh said.

    Having been saddled with the responsibility of guiding the team to a continental competition, Udoh will hope to put together a formidable squad that can compete for honours in the upcoming season to avoid the blood rush of the previous campaign.

    United finished in 16th spot with 51 points after 38 matches last season, managing just 14 wins, nine draws and 15 losses to see off competition from Kwara United, ABS FC, Wikki Tourist and Shooting Stars and retain Premier League status.