Enyimba Turn To Uche Okechukwu As Sporting Director After Ekwueme Exit

Enyimba Turn To Uche Okechukwu As Sporting Director After Ekwueme Exit

By Niyi Busari 

Former Super Eagles defender Uche Okechukwu has been appointed as the new Sporting Director of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side Enyimba FC, replacing Ifeanyi Ekwueme, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The nine-time NPFL champions recently parted ways with Ekwueme following growing concerns over the club’s recruitment strategy and allegations of mismanagement, issues that have contributed to Enyimba’s struggles in the ongoing league season.

Sources close to the Aba-based club said the decision was reached after an internal review of Enyimba’s sporting operations, with particular focus on player recruitment, squad planning and overall performance.

Enyimba are also understood to be dealing with unresolved issues surrounding the head coach position as part of a broader restructuring of the club’s football department.

The club is chaired by another Super Eagles great, Nwankwo Kanu, with Okechukwu’s appointment further strengthening Enyimba’s leadership with former international experience.

Okechukwu enjoyed a distinguished playing career, earning 47 international caps for Nigeria. He represented the country at two FIFA World Cups and two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, winning the latter in 1994. He was also a member of Nigeria’s gold-medal-winning squad at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

He made his senior national team debut at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria, where Nigeria finished runners-up. Okechukwu went on to captain the Super Eagles on several occasions from 1996 onwards and retired from international football after the 1998 World Cup, following Nigeria’s round-of-16 defeat to Denmark.

At club level, Okechukwu enjoyed a long and successful career in Turkey, where he spent 13 years and was later honoured as the foreign player with the longest spell in the country. He subsequently obtained Turkish citizenship under the name Deniz Uygar.