Football Legend Okpala eulogises Rangers’ role in post-war Nigeria

A former Super Eagles assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala, on Wednesday, provided insight into Rangers Football Club’s historical importance in Nigeria’s post-civil war.

Speaking to our reporter on Wednesday, Okpala said, “Rangers is not only a traditional team, but a movement of a people from the Southeast after the Civil War.”

This is coming after the Ex-Rangers International Footballers Cooperative announced a service of songs ceremony to commemorate two of their revered former players, Stanley Okoronkwo and Harrison Mecha, who recently passed away.

Okpala, who is also a prominent ex-Rangers and former Green Eagles player, recounted how Rangers’ victory over the Nigerian Army team in Lagos helped integrate Igbos back into Nigerian society post-war.

“After the game, most of those who fought against the Biafrans, those military chaps who fought against Biafra, from that game, they became supporters of Rangers because of the way Rangers played and defeated them,” Okpala explained.

According to him, this acceptance encouraged Igbos to travel and settle in other parts of Nigeria, following Rangers to their matches.

Meanwhile, the service of songs event, scheduled for August 8, 2024, at 1:30 PM in the Gymnasium Hall of Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium on Ogui Road, Enugu, aims to celebrate the lives and contributions of these ex-players.

Mecha, in addition to playing for the Rangers, was a player of the Nigerian Super Eagles, then known as the Green Eagles. Okoronkwo, meanwhile, was a Rangers player.

The event is being sponsored by the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who has supported the team through his contributions over the years.

Okpala praised Obi’s long-standing support for ex-Rangers, saying, “Obi has been connected with us even after he left office. He’s there until date. Obi suggested that we should have that service of song at Enugu where they play at Enugu Stadium. He (Obi) also footed the bills.”

The Ex-Rangers Chairman, Igweokolo Prince, who announced the programme in a statement sighted by According Online on Wednesday, said, “We the family of Ex-Rangers Int’l Footballers Cooperative wish to invite lovers of ex-Rangers to the service of songs of our two heroes, Stanley Okoronkwo and Harrison Mecha.”

The burial of both Okoronkwo and Mecha is scheduled for August 30 and 31 in Abia State.