Nigeria's former African Footballer of the Year, Amuneke bags Heartland FC Technical Adviser job

Posted : 06 August 2024

The Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has unveiled former CAF Player of the Year Emmanuel Amuneke as the new Technical Manager of Heartland FC.

In a brief ceremony held at the Government House in the presence of the Imo State Executive Council, the Governor expressed his dissatisfaction with the successive relegations of the Naze Millionaires from the top flight.

He explained that this dissatisfaction led the Imo Government to seek a coach from the state who has achieved greatness with the Tanzanian national team and Zanaco FC (Zambia), Emmanuel Amuneke, to assist the team.

"We are gathered here this afternoon to reposition Heartland FC for a brighter future.

"The events of the past show that when we came here in 2020, we found Heartland FC relegated from the NPFL.

"We did our best, provided support, and motivated the team, helping them escape relegation.

"However, recently, we noticed that Heartland FC is once again in decline. Therefore, we decided to address the concerns of our people and improve the enthusiasm for Heartland FC by reorganizing the administrative structure and strengthening the club’s management and manpower.

"In this effort, we identified one of our best—former head coach of the Tanzanian national team—who is currently residing in Spain.

"Our search led us to Emmanuel Amuneke.

"He is an expensive coach, but we negotiated and, combining patriotism and love for the state, he agreed to accept what we could afford.

"Heartland is a club everyone in the state is passionate about and a club to which we are all committed."

Governor Uzodinma urged the new leadership of Heartland FC to aim for winning the league title and returning the team to its previous continental successes, similar to when the team was known as Spartans and Iwuanyanwu Nationale.

"One of the targets for the new leadership is to win the Nigeria Premier Football League title and qualify for continental competitions.

"We are all committed to ensuring that Heartland FC regains its former status.

"We want Heartland FC to return to the top three positions in the league, as it did in the days of Spartans FC and Iwuanyanwu Nationale."

The Governor also disclosed that the new Technical Manager of Heartland FC will report directly to him to ensure smooth operational activities without unnecessary bureaucratic delays.

"We want to introduce the new Technical Manager of Heartland FC, and to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, I have decided that the coach will report directly to the Governor.

"He will report directly to me. Our findings revealed that unnecessary bureaucracy nearly sabotaged the club's operational goals. For access to information and approvals, the new Technical Manager will report directly to me, whether virtually or physically," Governor Uzodinma declared.

In his response, the 1994 CAF Player of the Year, Amuneke, assured Governor Uzodinma that he would work to restore Heartland FC to its former heights and called for the support of the State Government to achieve the set objectives.

"Your Excellency, I promise you, on behalf of myself and the entire Heartland FC, that we will do our best to ensure Heartland FC returns to its former enviable position," Amuneke said.

"I am someone with clear objectives and do not involve myself in tasks I am not capable of performing.

"I recall when I was unveiled as the coach of Tanzania; one of the things I said was that we would qualify for AFCON 2019. Many thought it was a joke, but we eventually qualified for AFCON for the first time after 39 years.

"Please be assured that with your support, we will take Heartland FC back to where it used to be."

Nigeria's former African Footballer of the Year, Amuneke bags Heartland FC Technical Adviser job

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