After two months of uncertainty, it seems the government of Rivers State will finally run three professional football clubs in the soon to kick off football season.
A 6-man committee set up by the Rivers State Sports Commissioner, Boma Iyaye, led by Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka submitted its report on Monday with a recommendation that the state government should continue with all three clubs-Sharks, Dolphins and Rivers Angels.
“To the credit of the Rivers State government, they have shouldered the responsibility of three professional, not amateur football clubs and we agreed that a lot needs to be done about the management structure.
“The asset base of each of them would need to be re- engineered and introduce a strictly audit protocol for the clubs,” Adokiye Amiesimaka said while presenting the committee’s report.
He hoped the report would be found useful by the government and its implementation will help the vision of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
The committee suggested that government may need to verify certain figures claimed to be debts owed to players of the three state owned clubs.
“Some figures may not necessarily be as high as has been alleged,” Amiesimaka said.
Adokiye Amiesimaka expressed confidence that if the report was taken seriously, then for the first time in the country, three truly professional football clubs would emerge.
Sports Commissioner, Boma Iyaye on receiving the report said the sports ministry wanted the exercise to be solely independent of government interest.
According to him, “We chose not to interfere since we wanted them to be independent of government interest.
“We will now set up a small committee within the ministry of sports to look into this report and advise the governor on what to do.”
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