Late former coach of Heartland, El-Kanemi and Rangers, Kelechi Emetoele will be honoured by the League when Match Day 26 games kick off across the country on June 28.
Kelechi Emetoele passed on in the early hours of Wednesday, June 21, 2017 after a bout of cancer and the League Management Company, LMC have announced that a mark of respect will be shown to Emetoele.
Players and match officials of clubs will turn out with black arm bands to honour Emetoele.
Emeteole, nicknamed ‘Caterpillar’ in his playing days for various league clubs in the country died in India where he underwent surgery for throat cancer.
Shehu Dikko, the Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC) expressed grief at the demise of the coach who in addition to managing several league clubs also worked with national teams including the Super Eagles, the Flying Eagles, the Golden Eaglets and the Beach Soccer team, otherwise called the Super Sand Eagles.
“The passing on of coach Emeteole is a great loss to the NPFL because he was a coach that has been very prominent in the league coaching teams and raising some of the players who have made this country proud.
“He was a true Nigerian who played football and worked with clubs across the states, speaking all three Nigerian major languages,” remarked Dikko.
After retiring from active football with the Owerri based Spartans FC, Emeteole took to coaching and remarkably helped El-Kanemi Warriors return to the NPFL rising all the way from the then Division 3 through to the Division two and to the defunct Nigeria Football League.
A prominent protégée of his at the Borno side is Enyimba
International FC’s Ikechukwu Ibenegbu who had gone on to represent Nigeria at the senior level and the Beach Soccer championships.
The late Emeteole also had repeat stints at Heartland FC of Owerri and Rangers International.
The LMC has therefore directed that a minute silence be observed across all NPFL venues on Saturday, June 24 and on Wednesday, June 28 for the Match Day 26 fixtures.
According to Dikko, “Emeteole deserves all the honour we can accord him at this time. We commiserate with his family and pray that God will grant them the fortitude to pass through this trying time in their family.”
