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The Chairman of Football Association, Imo State, Chief Amanze Uchegbulam, has advised Governor Hope Uzodimma to sell off the state own Heartland Football Club to Imo people for effective management.
Uchegbulam, who stated this while speaking to sportswriters in Owerri on Wednesday, said that Imo people loved the club and could afford to buy the club to save it from its present predicament.
He expressed displeasure at the continued litany of complaints from both the players, coaches and officials over non-payment of salaries, bonuses and match allowances by the government.
He said: “am tired of their complaints about debts, we cannot continue to run the club like that.”
The FA boss said that clubs like Heartland which is a flagship of Imo State could not continue to be run that way or be politicised.
“if the load is too much for the government, I will advise that the club should be sold to Imo people who will buy it as shareholders of the club,” he counselled.
Chief Amanze pointed out that the fund raised as shares would be put together for the effective running of the club by the shareholders through the creation of a Board and Management team.
The FA chairman said that further steps could as well be taken to reach out to companies for support for the club.
According to him if these measures were taken, they would go a long way in bringing the Naze Milloniars back on track rather than subjecting the players to regular strikes and refusal for training owing to huge debts owed to them.
He lamented that the Club in the last few matches in the ongoing Nigeria Professional Football League had lost six points because of the same problem of non-payment of salaries, adding that the Owerri based club is only 5 points away from relegation.
FA boss who expressed the fear of the club going into relegation if care is not taken, added that it would certainly cost more money to come out of it.
