Golden Eaglets officials and players on Sunday hailed the unalloyed support of the Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, and the people of the state after recording their third successive homes wins of the 2013 Under-17 qualifiers at the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium in Calabar, the state capital.
The scenes at the U. J. Esuene stadium actually was turned to a carnival of some sort as the Golden Eaglets unfurled three big banners with different messages in appreciation of the state government’s support to the team.
One of the messages was directed to the team’s number one fan, Senator Imoke: ‘Thank You So Much Sir! The Executive Governor of Cross River State.’
Apart from providing financial support and comfort for the team, Imoke graced all the team’s three matches where they scored a remarkable 14 goals without conceding any.
The other two banners were dedicated to Cross Riverians for coming out in their throngs to support the team even under inclement weather.
One was written in English; ‘Thank You, The Government and People of Cross River State.’
But the piece of the cake is the one in the local Efik dialect: ‘ Emenam Etieti, Cross River State!’
Which means: ‘Thank you, Cross River State people.’
Incidentally, earlier before the team’s departure for the game, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, the NFF President, had described Imoke as the best thing to have happened to Nigerian football.
Maigari, who visited the player Sunday morning, noted that the governor’s remarkable support to the team despite the state lean resources should be commended.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank Governor Imoke for his tremendous support to the team and generally to the Nigeria Football Federation,” Maigari stated.
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