Government may Sack Heartland FC. Management
CAF Cup Ouster
By uzoma peter
Any moment from now the management team of Heartland Football Club of Owerri may not continue to exist as the owners of the football outfit, Imo State Government has concluded to sack those running affairs of the club.
This development came to the force after the darling club of Owerri people could not progress to the next stage of the competition in a disgraceful manner.
After beating US Bitam of Gabon 2-1 competition, the FA Cup defending Champions lost out technically when the failed to honour the return leg in Libreville, Gabon.
Against CAF expectations, a rag- tag Heartland team championship eleven players only with one reserve, excluding a reserve goalkeeper managed to report to Gabon a day late, on the official date scheduled for the match.
Despite plea for “Force-Majeur. CAF Desplinary and organizing committee could not entertain Heartland excuses for absent before it ruled that the side fondly called Nze millionaires has lost.
Following the embracement Heartland disgraceful ouster caused the state government, the Okorocha led government is thinking of a mass purge in the management cadre. It was learnt that the club’s General Manager who is in charge of the management Mr. Fan Ndubuoke had in repeated occasions tendered his resignation over the indifferent approach of the state government to the affairs of the club. His resignation was however rejected. But the latest development has prompted the state government to make a U-turn on the Fan Ndubuoke-led management committee.
Apart from allowing Ndubuoke to go, it is the resolve of the state government to sack the management committee and inject new freshers to rejuvenate the affairs of the dying club.
The manner the club was stopped from entering the next stage of this year CAF Confederation Cup and embarrassment suffered by the state government necessitated the looming change of guard.
WEEKEND GAMES
IMO FED/GOVERNORS CUP
NSCDC 5 pen 6 Mbaise Utd
AV fc 2 1 Wisdom fc
Hatlnd Comets 13 pen 14 Patros fc
Young Stars o 2 Bussdor fc
Iwundu fc 2 3 Campos fc
Diamond fc 1 0 Amacuff fc
Real Carassco 1 2 Police Machine
QUARTER FINAL GAMES (17/4/13)
Heartland fc — Mbaise Utd
AV fc — Patros fc
Bussdor fc — Campos fc
18/4/13
Diamond fc — Police Machine
NPFL WEEK 7 GAMES (14/4/13)
Heartland fc 3 0 Lobi Stars
3 C S 4 1 Akwa Utd
A B S fc 2 0 Bayelsa Utd
Sunshine 3 0 Wikki Tourist
Sharks fc 0 0 Kano Pillars
Rangers 3 0 Dolphins
Nasarawa 2 0 Gombe Utd
Enyimba 0 0 Kwara Utd
Nembe City 1 0 Kaduna Utd
Warri Wolves 4 1 El Kanemi
CAF U17 AYC IN MOROCCO
RESULTS (13/4/13)
GROUP A
Morocco 4 1 Gabon
Tunisia 3 1 Botswana
GROUP B
Ivory Coast 1 1 Congo
Nigeria 6 1 Ghana
FIXTURE (17/4/13)
Ghana — Congo
Ivory Coast — Nigeria
Golden Eaglets Set to fly over Junior
Elephants after Mauling Starlets of Ghana
Nigerian Golden Eaglets are Set to fly over the Junior Elephants of Ivory Coast in on going U-17 African Youth Championship tomorrow in Morocco.
The Eaglets who kicked their quest for a third CAF U17 championship trophy with an emphatic 6-1 defeat of Ghana at the Stade de Marakech in Morocco on Sunday evening has declared their intention to make two win in two games when they take on the IVoreans.
Coach Garba Manu in a brief chart with Trumpeta via telephone immediately after the encounter against Ghana, stated that his lads are in the best frame of mined to crush any opponent that comes their way.
He further assured Nigerians that his team is in Morocco to win the CAF U-17 trophy and then proceed to the world stage.
Four goals from Isaac Success and one each from kelechi Iheanacho and Bernard Bulbwa were all Manu’s boys needed to brush aside Pa Kulesi Fabian’s team on an evening of exciting youth football.
The Nigerian lads, who have now extended their unbeaten run to 28 matches and 127 goals in the process will now face Cote divoire who played 1-1 against Congo in the earlier game, Ghana will face Congo also in a second group B game.
In the other group games, host morocco defeated Gabon 4-1 in the opening game of the tournament, while Tunisia also trashed Botsana 3-1 to claim a double victory for the North-Africans.
Tragedy: Trailer Crashes Heartland
FC Defender Onyewuchi Onyefule
on danger list at FMC, Owerri
Tragedy struck twice on Heartland Football Club of Owerri as the team lost out technically in the CAF Cup as they also lost Onyebuchi Onyefule to injury in an auto-crash
According to reports reaching Trumpeta, the much talked about new Bus that was promised by his Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha was still held up some were by the sports commissioner, Hon: Kenneth Emelu which meant that the Naze millionaire players were still attending training sessions with Keke Napep and a rickety bus.
The fullback Onyefule who recently joined Heartland from Gombe united and hails from Ikeduru was reported to have been involved in a ghastly auto-crash while attending a training session on Saturday morning.
The accident which occurred along the Naze high way saw the Keke which was conveying Onyebuchi to the training ground knocked-off the road into a gully by a trailer.
It took the identification of his Jersey by some on lookers to know, he was a Heartland player before they rushed him to a hear by hospital were they were referred to the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC), Owerri were he is responding to treatment.
In a chart with the team manager Mr. Promise Nwachukwu, he said that it took the grace of God to spare Onyebuchi’s life, as parts of his flesh were cut to fill the injured leg. Information also has it that his playing career is in jeopardy.
Meanwhile Heartland defied all the bad omen to humble had fighting Lobi Star’s 3-0 in a week 7 game of the on going Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFEL) Played at Dan Anyiam on Sunday.
David Tyavkasi, former Lobi Stars player scored a brace, while Isa Akoh Umoru got one taking his total tally in the League to 5 as Heartland amassed the 3 points to their already 7 to make it 10 points in 7 games. In another vein, Trumpeta also learnt that the Deputy Governor after presenting
the new bus to Heartland management in his office paid an emergency visit to the Heartland defender assuring him of Govt’s support and even made a donation
Of N200,000 naira to all the patients in the emergency ward.
CAF Awards US Bitam Technical Victory
over Heartlands Force Majeure
Confederation of African Football (CAF) has finally laid to rest the drama surrounding Heartlands involvement in the 2013 CAF Confederation Cup Competition.
The Apex African football body on Saturday night in Morocco threw out the appeal filed by the Nze millionaires against their elimination from the competition.
Heartland, who led 2-1 from the first leg in Nigeria, claimed they had difficulties traveling to Gabon for the fixture, and arrived the country after they had been walked over.
When they got back to Nigeria, heartland spokesman Cajethan Nkwopara had said they hoped the walkover decision would be over turned by CAF.
Now, CAF has confirmed that the appeal has been rejected.
“The Caf inter-clubs committee considered that the absence of the team from Nigeria was mainly the responsibility of the club Heartland, rather than a case of force Majeure, a statement on CAF website reads, citing article 16 of the competition regulations.
If for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match except in case of force majeure accepted by the organizing committee- or if it refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the permission of the referee, it shall be eliminated from the competition”, the statement goes on to add.
Although Heartland has been eliminated, CAF have said the Owerri side will not face any further sanctions.
