Five time champions Heartland FC of Owerri have sent their warm felicitations to the man they described as their father, benefactor, legend and Pillar, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
According to the message signed by the management, Chief Iwuanyanwu made an indelible mark on the club, taking over the Spartans of old and revamping them into world beaters.
“In 1986 when the then Imo State Government could not take care of the Spartans, Chief Iwuanyanwu was beckoned on to come over to Macedonia and help the State”,
“Ahaejiagamba obliged the clarion call and took 42 players and eight officials to a training camp in Brazil. He paid over 450, 000 dollars for that unique project that lasted for two months”,
“Under his leadership the welfare of his players was his number one priority, while hiring the best in the business”,
“Members of the golden 1994 world cup squad, the likes of Chidi Nwanu Uche Okechukwu ,Uche Okafor, Benedict Iroha Thomson Oliha to mention but a few were products of Chief Iwuanyanwu ‘s magnanimity”,
“In 1996 a product of Iwuanyanwu Nationale, “Kanu Nwankwo” a UEFA Champions League winner with Ajax Amsterdam led Nigeria’s dream team to win her first Olympic gold medal in football alongside the mobile Mobi Oparaku”, they recounted.