The Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, and the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, have agreed to partner on all round sports development.
While addressing ESUT Management led by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, the General Manager of Rangers International FC, Barr. Amobi Ezeaku, disclosed that the Club has established an Innovation Hub for sports engagement and development.
He therefore stated that ESUT could partner the Club in areas such as data analysis, sports law and medicine, internship, sports kinetics and talent hunt among others, adding that with proper arrangements, students of the University could study and play professional football at the same time.
Founded in 1970, the General Manager stated that Rangers football club had done well in the Nigeria Premier Football League, being the defending champion for 2023/2024 season, and currently in the semifinals of this year’s FA Cup.
In his response, the ESUT Vice Chancellor, Professor Okolie, stated that Rangers FC has remained the pride of the Igboman, adding that the Club has never been relegated in the Nigeria premier league.
He noted that the Club is currently recreating the winning spirit which the Club was known for, adding that ESUT has enormous talents in all walks of life to guarantee a fruitful partnership with the Club.
He equally said that ESUT had signed MoUs with local and foreign reputable institutions in areas of research and development.
Prof Okolie also informed the visitors that ESUT has established an Innovation Hub to render certification programmes to staff and students of the University.
“We shall have real creativity and certification coming out of our Innovation Hub. We are already keying into the experiential learning model of the Enugu State Government,” he stated.
He further said that 100 level students of the University would be grouped and assigned value-adding research topics which they would submit before leaving the University. The projects, he remarked, would be for certification and commercialisation, adding that students of the University would be certified in three areas which would make them financially independent.
He stated that the collaboration with the Rangers International FC would be mutually-beneficial.
