Sunday Mba was relatively unknown to many
people in Nigerian football fraternity until few
days ago. Despite playing in the Golden Eaglets
that did not qualify for the Peru 2005 FIFA U-17
World Cup finals following poor outing under
coach Godwin Izilien at Gambia 2005 African
U-17 Championship, Mba remained one of those
players in the domestic scene that was not
getting much attention.
After an amazing run of form at the South
Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations where he
helped Super Eagles lift their third continental
diadem with two crucial goals, first the winner
against Ivory Coast in the quarter finals and
second, the only goal in the grand finale against
Burkina Faso, the Alayi, Isuikwuato Okigwe LGA
Abia State born midfielder has attracted both
fame and controversy to himself.
At the last count, no fewer than three domestic
Premier League clubs are at each other’s neck
in a bitter feud over the right of ownership of
the midfielder. Beyond Nigeria Professional
Football League’s, NPFL’s ruling that Mba indeed
is a bonafide player of Warri Wolves, Rangers
are crying for justice, saying the player is their
property.
In 2001, Austin Ejide was at the center of a
heated transfer feud between Rangers and
Gabros. In 2002, Emeka Okpara was also at the
center of another transfer controversy between
Rangers and Enyimba.
Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC of Ibadan, are
also spitting fire against Rangers who they
accused of luring goalkeeper Emma Daniel and
going ahead to list him as their player without
officially clearing him from them (3SC).
Yet, Dolphins claim they have a strong case to
prove that indeed, Sunday Mba, is their player.
Beyond the claims of the three clubs and
decision of the NPFL which Rangers are set to
battle against even in the civil court rooms,
having engaged the services of a legal firm to
push their case, lies the evolving cankerworm
bedeviling Nigerian football.
Like the Bosman’s rule that has set the pace for
players’ freedom globally once their truly
documented contracts with clubs expire, the
current Mba-Gate has the ultimate potential to
bring to the fore, the rot that is crippling club
management in this country. It can also expose
the mal-administration going on in the Nigerian
domestic clubs. Better still, one of the biggest
gains is that it will be setting the pace for
proper documentation of players’ records in the
country. It will also help to set a standard for a
well structured transfer procedure and as well
see to it that players’ welfare takes the center
stage of club management in Nigeria. At the
end of the burning ownership tussle of Mba
between Rangers, Warri Wolves and perhaps
Dolphins, the ills going on in different clubs
where monies realized from players transfers
end up in a few club officials pockets will be
exposed and put to a stop.
RANGERS: MBA’S OURS, NO CONTROVERSY!
Rangers International are not prepared to lose a
dime as regards proceeds from Sunday Mba’s
likely international transfer. Despite the recent
pronouncement by NPFL declaring Mba a
bonafide player of Warri Wolves, Rangers have
vehemently kicked against that judgment.
Through their legal advisors, Vincent O. Ene &
Co, they registered their opposition to the
decision. In a letter dated 14/2/2013 and
addressed to the Secretary, NFF League
Management Committee, Rangers claim
that…“Sunday Mba at all times is a registered
player with Rangers Int’l FC. Sometimes in the
course of his career, he was transferred to
Dolphins of Port Harcourt on loan. They strongly
believe NPFL don’t have the basic right to
adjudicate on the statutes of players, a power,
they claim, is solely vested with the FA, in this
case, NFF.
“Subsequent to the loan deal between Rangers
and Dolphins FC Port Harcourt, Dolphins
released him to Warri Wolves without the
consent, concurrence and clearance from
Rangers Int’l FC.”
“Consequently, our client holds firmly, and
maintains that Sunday Mba is a bonafide player
of Rangers Int’l FC with the attendant rights
and privileges thereto.”
“On the tenure he had been with Warri Wolves
FC, it is our client’s resolve that Warri Wolves FC
are indebted to Rangers on account of that.
“We therefore implore you not to give any effect
to any action ceding Sunday Mba to Warri
Wolves as contemplated in your letter,” the legal
firm wrote.
Rangers claimed they transferred Mba to
Dolphins during the 2009/2010 season but had
to withdraw the provisional clearance when the
Port Harcourt side failed to pay the agreed
transfer/clearance fee. They produced a copy of
the withdrawal letter written to NPL dated 5th
October, 2010 and signed by Ozor Paul
Chibuzor, Chief Executive Secretary of Rangers.
They also claimed that Mba was duly cleared to
Rangers by Enyimba on December 13, 2006, in
an Enyimba letter-headed paper signed by
Darlington Azubuike for: Enyimba Int’l FC.
Armed with the documents, Rangers insist
Sunday Mba is their player and cannot be ceded
to Warri Wolves by the NPFL.
Spokesman of the club, Foster Chime, claimed
that Sunday Mba was merely loaned to Dolphins
and that following the Port Harcourt side’s
failure to meet the payment of an undisclosed
loan fees, Rangers management had to cancel
the loan agreement by writing to NPL.
“We cleared Mba from Enyimba (See bromide
A). There was no dispute about that. Later, we
gave him out on loan to Dolphins but when
Dolphins could not pay the agreed fees, we
wrote to NPL to cancel the agreement,” Chime
explained. (See bromide B)
On why Rangers did not take any action when
Mba was loaned to Warri Wolves by Dolphins,
Chime said Rangers merely informed Warri
Wolves that Mba was Rangers’ player and that
on no account should they (Wolves) deal with
Dolphins as regards his ( Mba’s) clearance.
“We made Warri Wolves to realize that Mba was
our player and that we should be the ones to
issue his clearance,” Chime added.
ENYIMBA: WE CLEARED MBA FOR RANGERS
BUT…
Enyimba International admitted they duly
cleared Sunday Mba to Rangers in 2006 as
corroborated by the Coal City Flying Antelopes
in a player’s transfer agreement dated 13th
December 2006 and signed by Darlington
Azubuike for Enyimba management.
However, the People’s Elephant claim that
Rangers have not fulfilled the terms of the
clearance.
They claim there was a clause in the transfer
agreement which gives Enyimba a certain
percentage of proceeds from the player’s
subsequent transfer.
“There was no argument about the fact that we
cleared Mba to Rangers. But there was an
aspect to it which is not for media consumption.
From what you have on the transfer letter we
issued to Rangers, was there no clause there as
regards to what Enyimba will receive in respect
of the player’s subsequent transfer?, ” an
Enyimba senior official asked.
“We may not have been directly involved in this
matter, but we have interest in it and we have
to wait till the appropriate time,” he added.
DOLPHINS: WE’VE RIGHT TO CLAIM MBA
Stanley Eguma is the Technical Manager of
Dolphins of Port Harcourt. It was Eguma who
recruited Sunday Mba into Dolphins for the
2009/2010 Nigeria Premier League season. He
says the club has right to claim ownership of
the player going by the manner he joined the
club and the way Dolphins and Rangers
transacted his transfer matters.
“Mba played for us during the 2009/2010
season. I got him from Jos through an agent
from Owerri. Mba at that time told us his
contract with Rangers had expired and so he
left for Jos. But given the manner such issues
are handled in Nigeria where clubs claim
ownership of players even when their contracts
have ended, we still spoke to Rangers and we
settled for a transfer fee of N3m.”
“During the season, we discovered that Rangers
were also playing with one of our own players,
Darlington Ihejene, who we gave to Niger
Tornadoes on loan the previous season. We
wrote to NPL to stop him because we felt
Tornadoes should not be the right club to issue
his clearance. NPL investigated our claim and
found out it was true and so they stopped him
from playing.”
“At this point, Rangers CEO, Ozor Paul
Chibuzor, called me on phone and begged me.
We asked them to give us N3m. We agreed that
since they demanded N3m from us for Mba and
we need N3m from them for Ihejene, and
considering the cash crunch in both clubs, the
two parties mutually settled for exchange of the
two players.”
“At the end of the season, Mba left for Warri
Wolves. We tried to let Warri Wolves know that
Mba was our player based on the existing
understanding between Dolphins and Rangers.
On normal circumstances, Sunday Mba is
supposed to be our player and we have already
called Rangers to hands-off Mba for us based
on the existing understanding we had with
them- that’s the swap deal for Sunday Mba and
Darlington Ihejene,” Eguma said.
WARRI WOLVES: RANGERS ARE FIGHTING
LOST BATTLE
Warri Wolves, on their part, have come out to
declare that Rangers FC are fighting a lost
battle over the ownership of the Super Eagles
midfielder, Sunday Mba.
Secretary of the club, Lawrence Omohowo, told
complete Sports in the course of our in-depth
investigation into the Mba-Gate that they have
all the necessary documents to back their claim.
Omohowo said among the documents which
they hope to make public in due course was the
player’s clearance paper issued by Rangers
sometime in 2011.
“Sunday Mba is our player, there is no
controversy about that,” Omohowo said with
confidence.
“We cleared him from Rangers in January 2011
and we’re in possession of his clearance papers
as I speak with you, but we‘ll make it public at
the appropriate time.”
To further buttress their argument, spokesman
of the club, Etu Moses, informed Complete
Sports that Rangers had in November last year
written to Warri Wolves informing them of their
desire to engage the services of Sunday Mba,
Chigozie Agbim and Lazarus Chukwu. (See
bromide C)
Moses also made available the written request,
dated November 2, 2012 and signed by Elder
Joseph Onwukwe, Secretary, Rangers
International FC.
The letter reads in parts:“We wish to notify you
of our interest to engage the services of your
players—Chigozie Agbim, Sunday Mba and
Lazarus Chukwu.
“This is to help in beefing up our team for the
2012/2013 CAF Champions League
Competition.”
Etu wondered why the same Rangers who had
admitted that the player was Warri Wolves
player could turn round suddenly to claim
ownership of the same player.
“Tell me, how can you beg to have what you
believe belongs to you? How come the same
Rangers that wrote us begging for our
permission to sign our player turn round to
begin to claim ownership of the same player?”
“Is it not funny? It appears someone,
somewhere, out there, is up to some deceits
and we’re ready to expose them.”
SUNDAY MBA BIO-DATA:
Name: Sunday Mba
D.O.B: Nov 23, 1988
P.O.B: Alayi, Abia State
Position: Central Midfielder
Current Club: Warri Wolves
Previous Clubs: 2004: Pepsi Football Academy
2005/2006: Enyimba FC
2007: Rangers
2007/2008 Enyimba
2008/2009 Rangers
2009/2010: Dolphins
2010-2012: Warri Wolves
National Teams Career
2005: U-17 Golden Eaglets, Gambia 2005 CAF
U-17 African Championship
2010: WAFU Nations Cup Winner with Home
Based Eagles
2012: Senior National Team debut in Super
Eagles goalless draw with Angola in January
2012
2013: AFCON winner with Super Eagles.

Let the clubs claiming him tender their documents rather than heating the system with verbal arguments.