Heartland FC celebrates the legacies of Chief Iwuanyanwu, Ifeanyi Ubah

Heartland FC has described the death of former owner of the club, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as a great loss that would be hard to replace.

Chief Iwuanyanwu died in Abuja on Thursday after a brief illness at 82 years and Nigerians and the international community have been sending their condolences and tributes to celebrate the life and time of the Elder Statesman.

An official of Heartland FC, Emmanuel Amuneke said the late philanthropist is a rare individual whose wealth of experience and milk of human kindness would not be easy to surpass.

He called on Nigerians to use their lives to impact positively on their fellow humans just like Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu has done.

The former Barcelona FC and Zamalek winger affirmed that what endeared him to Chief Iwuanyanwu was his desire to go for the best when he was still the sole financier of the Naze Millionaires.

“He is a legend when it comes to what he has done in sport, politics, and as an individual. He blazed the trail in all of these and everyone is saying positive things about him,” Amuneke said to Heartland FC Media.

“I could remember when I was in Julius Berger FC, I was approached to play for the club but it couldn’t happen. He is a household name who has created a lot of impact on the lives of people. Unfortunately, he has to die.

“It tells us that in life whoever you are always use it to impact positively on the life of others. People will always remind you of what you have done and how you have helped someone to become relevant to society. We thank him for what he has done.”

Chief Iwuanyanwu took over the reins of the then Spartans FC of Owerri in 1985 renaming it Iwuanyanwu Nationale and after two decades the club became a household name in Nigeria and Africa winning the Nigerian league four straight seasons between 1987 and 1990 and also in 1993. They also won one FA Cup in 1988 before Heartland FC added two more in 2011 and 2012.

The then Iwuanyanwu Nationale also got to the final of the African Club Champions Cup in 1988 before losing to Entente Setif of Algeria among other numerous Semi-final appearances in the competition and the Cup Winners Cup (now named CAF Confederation Cup).

Heartland FC also commiserated with the football family over the demise of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah who died in London, England on Friday.

The Owerri side said the death of Ubah who died aged 52 was painful because he died when his wealth of experience is highly needed and that all that he did for Nigerian football through FC Ifeanyi Ubah and while he was a board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would never be forgotten.