Ismaila Gata registered his first goal for his new club, Ifeanyi Ubah in a 2-0 win over Rivers United in Match Day 23 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) clash on Sunday.
The former Kwara United goal poacher scored the second goal in the 50th minute to take his season’s goals account to 10, after Wasiu Jimoh had opened scoring in the 23rd minute from an assist by Maduabuchi Okereke.
Gata joined Ifeanyi Ubah during the just concluded mid-season transfer window.
Nigeria Professional Football League side, FC Ifeanyi Ubah have signed ex-Nigeria U-17 skipper, Fortune Chukwudi ahead of the second part of the League season.
Chukwudi captained the Nigeria U-17 side to a second-place finish at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but has fizzled out of national reckoning ever since.
The central defender has previously played for Sharks and Bayelsa United and has now completed a move to the Nnewi club.
Ifeanyi Ubah have embarked on a recruitment drive after being handed a transfer kitty of N100m by club owner, Ifeanyi Ubah, and Chukwudi is one of the players to have been snapped up by the ‘Anambra Warriors’.
He has been capped by Nigeria at U-20 and Olympic levels and made his Super Eagles debut against Egypt in March.
The billionaire owner of FC IfeanyiUbah has admitted he has learnt his lessons from the stadium ban he has served out.
Ifeanyi Ubah was handed a stadium ban for assaulting Heartland goalkeeper Ebele Obi in a recent league game.
“I am happy to be back. I have learnt my lessons and I promise to be of exemplary nature and be a role model and ambassador,” said oil magnate Ifeanyi Ubah during his team’s 2-0 home win against Niger Tornadoes on Sunday.
IfeanyiUbah skipper Chibuzor Okonkwo said the presence of the club owner inspired the team.
“His presence definitely made an impact in our performance. Seeing him in the stands today (Sunday), we the players were galvanized to get a result,” Okonkwo said.
Proprietor of FC Ifeanyi Ubah football club of Nnewi Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah has revealed that the multi billion naira Nnewi international stadium under construction would be ready for use by February 21, the date for new season kick off.
Receiving the Nigeria Pillar of Sports, Donatus Agu Ejidike (JP) who paid him a courtesy call at his Abuja office yesterday, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah said his supports to sports development in Nigeria and beyond was borne out of his desires to transform the sector which he has great passion for.
He said that the Nnewi stadium would be ready for NPFL games with covered seat, flood lights and good turf while work on the games village would soon commence.
Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah informed further that the decision by his club to import Brazilian players to the domestic league was to raise the standard of the league and to attract spectators to the stadia.
Earlier, Agu Ejidike commended Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah for his contributions to humanity and sports development in Nigeria and charged him not to relent in his efforts to make Nnewi to become the model in Nigeria.
Ejidike used the occasion to call on the League Management company (LMC ) to continue its efforts at transforming the league so that private individuals and corporate bodies would be encouraged to invest in the management and ownership of football clubs as done by the oil magnate.
Nigeria premier league club FC IfeanyiUbah have demanded N3 million as transfer fee from Kano Pillars for ex-Nigeria star Sani Kaita.
AfricanFootball.com first reported that Kaita is set for a sensational return to hometown club Pillars after he dumped IfeanyiUbah over an alleged breach of contract.
And now the Nnewi club have agreed to let go the former international defensive midfielder, but at N3 million.
It was further gathered by AfricanFootball.com that Pillars are willing to pay this amount but would want to do so in installments.
Kaita has featured for clubs in Holland, France and Russia, but lately he has returned to the domestic league to first star for Enyimba before he eventually joined up with IfeanyiUbah.
• Wants team to acquire more experienced players
FC IfeanyiUbah defender, Chibuzo Okonkwo has revealed to SportingLife that the Anambra Warriors came out of the Oriental Derby clash with Enugu Rangers victorious because he and his team mates vowed to welcome new coach, Dan Amokachi with a win in Enugu.
Before the match, FC IfeanyiUbah found it difficult to win matches under former Technical Adviser, Sam Obuh who has been promoted to the post of club’s Football Director, but they got their bearing after two late goals wrecked the Flying Antelopes.
Okonkwo, an out of favour Super Eagles’ defender, told SportingLife that the players were not happy with their unimpressive results in the last six matches where they only picked three points from possible 18 and that they promised to surprise Enugu Rangers at their home. He said they were elated to get their wishes.
“It was a tough victory for us but we had to do our job because we wanted to stop the unimpressive results in our previous games. We (the players) had series of meetings and pep talks to ensure that we bounce back to victory against Rangers and we were happy everything went our way.
“We are also delighted to have coach Daniel Amokachi in charge of the team now and we are eager to get more points for him and the owner of the club, Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah,” Okonkwo told SportingLife.
The former Libya based defender, however, admonished the management of the club to get more experienced players to beef up the team so that the Anambra Warriors could go places in the remaining matches of the season.
FC IfeanyiUbah were bundled out of the Federation Cup by Nasarawa United last week and they are presently 10th on the league table with 32 points from 23 matches.
Their mid week tie with Akwa United will be on hold because of the involvement of the latter in the semi final of the Federation Cup against Nasarawa United in Abeokuta same day.
High-riding Shooting Stars may soon lose two of their top performers -Ajani Ibrahim and Sunday Adetunji – after they caught the eye of the owner of FC IfeanyiUbah.
A very reliable source stated that the deal may happen sooner than later as moves to get the players have been launched by the Nnewi side after they shone in their game against Heartland at Rojenny Stadium, Oba, near Onitsha, at the weekend.
“It is very clear that our oga, Ifeanyi Ubah, did not hide his love for the two players after watching them perform and he has started making inquiries on how to get them to join our club,” a source told AfricanFootball.com.
“Like you know, whatever he wants, he gets. So, I am sure that before long, Sunday Adetunji and Ajani Ibrahim will be unveiled as F.C IfeanyiUbah players.”
Our source further said that former Rangers, Enyimba and 3SC forward Mishack Chibuikem has already joined the Nnewi side as they look to discover the form that made the team a front runner in the early stages of the season.
Sunshine Stars on Monday played out a goalless draw with home team Ifeanyi Ubah in Oba in a Week 22 game of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
The game could not hold on Sunday as earlier scheduled due to heavy rain which left the Rojenny Stadium pitch unplayable and water-logged.
Sunshine are now second on the league table with 40 points from 22 games, while Bayelsa United have 29 points. It was a game of misses at both ends of the pitch by both teams.
In the 77th minute, league leading scorer Tunde Adeniji fired a free kick poorly at the wall. Five minutes to the end of the game, Adeniji got another chance for Sunshine Stars, but he flashed his header wide.
In the 87th minute, Sunshine goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa denied Ifeanyi Ede a goal with a good save from close range. A minute later, Okiki Afolabi shot wide with a volley at the other end for Sunshine.
In the 90th minute, goalkeeper Ezenwa was again on hand to prevent Ifeanyi Ubah from scoring with when he saved Okereke Maduabuchi’s effort.
Chairman of Capital Oil Limited and owner of FC IfeanyiUbah has declared that he would continue to invest in the Nigerian football if persons like LMC chairman Shehu Dikko are running the game.
Ubah made the declaration after he was unveiled as a patron of the Nigeria Nationwide League.
Ubah said with his new position as the Patron of the NNWL he is challenged to do more for Nigeria Football.
“One, it’s about youth development, it’s about enterprise, and it’s about creating awareness in the youth in the world. And I believe with the rebranding of the Nigeria Football Federation, I am sure that we would have a lot of smiles at the end of the day,” he said.
“What you have done today is giving me the courage to do what I think is the best for Football. And I promise that once I continue to see people like Shehu Dikko around Nigerian football, I will continue to be challenged to do more for Nigeria Football, but if people like Shehu Dikko are no longer in Nigeria football, then you would not see me again.”
Former Super Eagles stars Daniel Amokachi, Garba Lawal and Patrick Pascal were unveiled as NNWL ambassadors.
