Foundation, a charity arm of the Spanish League Association has announced that it will support El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri with cash and equipment in furtherance of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the League Management Company (LMC) for collaborations with the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
While in Nigeria during the official ceremonies to unveil the NPFL-LaLiga partnership, the Spanish League officials were touched by the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East which led to El-Kanemi Warriors having to play their home games for two seasons away from their traditional Maiduguri ground.
Following discussions and presentations made by the LMC to LaLiga, their response was positive.
“We are writing to you from LaLiga Foundation in relation with our next collaboration and would through this official communication confirm our intention to collaborate with the El-Kanemi Team as a great opportunity to start working together”, wrote Olga de la Fuente of the Professional Football Foundation of LaLiga to the LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko.
The partnership will consist of a cash grant of 54,000 Euros and Sporting Materials including training shirts, official balls and other equipments.
“We are very grateful to LaLiga for the assistance they have offered. We intend to deploy the fund to upgrade some of the facilities in our camp, build a gymnastic where the players can train without going out and also repair some of the basic facilities inside the stadium that may have run down”, said Zana Malla Kakaje, Chairman of El-Kanemi Warriors FC.
The club returned to Maiduguri for the first time since the 2013/14 season on April 10 in a Match Day 11 fixture against Shooting Stars Sports Club. An enthusiastic Maiduguri football fans thronged the airport in their thousands to receive Shooting Stars and to watch both teams train ahead of the encounter. The hosting of over five league fixtures in the former war torn capital city has been an eloquent testimony that the Federal Government through the Military has made tremendous progress in the fight to contain the insurgency that grounded economic and social activities in most of the North Eastern part of Nigeria.
LMC Chairman, Dikko said “we are delighted to see the first fruits of the partnership with the LaLiga and it sign-posts a greater and brighter future for the NPFL and the clubs. The LMC will explore other areas of mutually beneficial partnership as provided for in the MOU to maximize the opportunities inherent in this collaboration”.
The formal presentation of the cash grant and the equipment will be made on a date to be announced.