The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, Enugu State chapter has urged the state government to reduce the number of technical crew of Rangers International FC, Enugu and improve the club’s marketing strategy.
SWAN gave the advice in its position paper to the Panel of Inquiry on the Crisis and Abysmal Performance of the club in the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League season.
The state Chairman of SWAN, Norbert Okolie, and the Secretary, Ignatius Okpara, signed the paper in Enugu on Thursday.
The paper said: “In recent times, Rangers FC is believed to be the only club in Nigeria with the highest number of officials, particularly the technical crew, and SWAN strongly believes it is counter-productive.
“To this end, we opined that the number be prone down from its present over 15-man crew to a 10-man crew.
“This is because a situation where the technical crew outnumbers the players is laughable.”
The association said no modern day football club, be it in developed or developing nation, could survive without a sound marketing unit.
It, however, expressed concern that a household brand like Rangers FC did not have a proactive marketing department, hence, it always depended solely on government funding, adding that this ought not to be.
SWAN said: “We suggest that the incoming management should engage a competent marketing agency that can embark on aggressive sourcing of funds for it so as to make it depend less on government subvention.”
The association also called for the relocation of Rangers camp from Enugu metropolis to Awgu Games Village, outskirt of Enugu, to guarantee concentration of players and technical crew.
It advised: “We wish to posit that the current location of Rangers camp, directly opposite a tertiary institution, the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), is counter-productive as it has a lot of negative implications.
“Such environment is not conducive for players because of the nature of their job and their lifestyle.
“However, we are advocating that the camp be relocated to the Awgu Games Village, which is a more serene atmosphere devoid of any form of distractions, unlike the present camp.”
It further advised that the leadership of the management to be reconstituted should undertake total reconciliation with all those who might have been injured in one way or the other.
SWAN said the reconciliation became necessary because the aggrieved group served serving in the club.
It said: “The state government should also take whatever recommendations that may emanate from the panel very seriously.
“Above all, appointment of the new management should be done transparently.
“The incoming management must make transparency and prudent handling of resources their watch words, if they must succeed.”
The Governor of the state, Ifeanyi Uguwanyi, on August 14, set-up a 10-man panel of inquiry over the abysmally performance of Rangers 2016/2017 NPFL) and the club’s continental engagements.
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