Proprietor of FC Ifeanyiubah of Nnewi in Anambra State, Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, may have shifted focus from his failed political ambition to football, as he is working underground to succeed the incumbent President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick when his term expires.
According to a competent source, Ubah, a successful businessman and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, had made several attempts to contribute his quota to his community and Anambra state and in his bid to better the lives of his people, he contested in the 2014 Anambra State Gubernatorial Elections on the platform of the Labour Party. In a keenly contested battle, despite being a first timer to such a contest, Dr Ubah made a mark in the contest.
Since then, Ubah has been a household name in Anambra and Nigerian Politics, which was expressly exhibited during the 2015 Presidential and Gubernatorial Elections.
An ambitious Ubah established FC Ifeanyiubah in 2015, as a step towards realising his dream. He bought Gabros International Football Club, owned by former Vice President of NFF, Chief Gabriel Chukwuma.
The following year, in May 2016, Dr Ubah was unanimously elected the Chairman, Anambra State Football Association (ANSFA). The election took place at midnight and since his election, he has introduced series of football programmes aimed at promoting and developing football in the state. One of such programmes is his novel initiative – Football Made in Anambra – “1 Family – 1 Footballer” project, which was endorsed by the world’s football governing body, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) when her President, Gianni Infantino visited Nigeria.
On November 6, 2016, FC Ifeanyiubah defeated Nasarawa United FC on penalties to clinch a historic Federation Cup at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. Since the split of Anambra State, no football club from the State has ever won the trophy.
Dr Ubah is also the Patron of the Nigerian Nationwide League One (NNWL) as well as the Patron of the national chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).
The FC Ifeanyiubah chairman has been a backbone to the present NFF executive and he has been using his personal resources to fund many of Amaju Pinnick’s activities outside the country.
It was widely speculated that he solely financed Pinnick’s CAF executive election in far away Ethiopia early this year. He has remained a chosen candidate of the NFF executive board and no one should doubt it when he later signifies intention to vie for NFF top position.
“Ubah has been part of the NFF since he established FC Ifeanyiubah. I think he has a good adviser on football-related matters and he has been spending so much on the local scene. He hired coaches from Brazil to beef up his team. He also has some foreign players in his team. He was there when FIFA came to Nigeria to see the 17 football federations’ presidents. He also hosted the new CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad when he came to Nigeria to campaign against Issa Hayatou’s administration. Dr Ubah understands football politics and he is building his profile to fit into the NFF system and politics,” the source informed The Point.
