Sports
The Story Behind Rivers United’s Success
The six-year journey to the Nigeria Professional Football League title for Rivers United had the backing of West Africa’s largest independent chemical as well as oil and gas engineering solutions provider, Eunisell.
For Rivers United, it has been a six-year journey, but seven years for the Eunisell brand as a sponsor in the Nigeria Professional Football League.
Indeed, today’s marriage between Eunisell and Rivers United kicked off with Sharks Football Club, now defunct, on Tuesday, July 21, 2015.
At the ceremony, Eunisell Group Managing Director, Chika Ikenga, declared the brand’s readiness to stay with the club.
Sharks FC was eventually relegated, but determined to see the club make an instant return to the top flight, Eunisell chose to extend its sponsorship of the team in the second tier league.
In February 2016, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, decided to merge relegated Sharks and Dolphins, also owned by the State.
The decision produced a new team, Rivers United and Eunisell remained as sponsor of the new team.
For Eunisell, sponsoring Rivers United is a strategy to be part of their history and ultimate success.
By extending its sponsorship from Sharks to the newly formed Rivers United, in 2016, Eunisell displayed readiness to lead a campaign for Nigerian brands to change the NPFL narrative.
Since 2016 Eunisell has been on the shirt of the club as sponsor, a feat that makes it the longest running sponsorship in the NPFL. Convinced Rivers United is the right partner for a long time sponsorship, Eunisell stayed with the club, despite its inability to win a trophy.
Rivers United came close in its first season but lost the title to Enugu Rangers.
In appreciation of the club’s impressive campaign in its first season in 2016, Eunisell announced a N10, 000,000 bonuses.
This was the first by any club sponsor in the NPFL.
To underscore his commitment to the team, Ikenga led a high powered Eunisell team to Sagamu to motivate the players at a time the club was having a poor run, during the 2017 season.
The presence of the Eunisell team resulted in a 3-1 away win against home side, Remo Stars.
Rivers United finished on 15th position; two points above the drop zone, but the brand remained convinced Rivers United will emerge champions of Nigeria one day.
To further confirm its determination to make the club a model in the league, Eunisell introduced the Eunisell Rivers United Day.
Organised in Port-Harcourt, it was conceived to bring the Rivers United brand closer to the fans.
From inception of Eunisell’s sponsorship of Rivers United, Ikenga had reiterated the brand’s desire to see the club emerge champions. The clarion call from Eunisell has always been one of the brand’s loyalty to Rivers United whether they fall or rise and irrespective of the economic situation in Nigeria.
Rivers United started this season in tremendous form and finished as mid-season champions.
As a sign of its dominance, the club set a 12-match unbeaten run and even a 10-point gap ahead of its closest rival, Plateau United.
Delightfully, the club claimed the title with three matches to the end of the season.
Eunisell is proud to be part of Rivers United’s history, success and transformation from a new club, in 2016, to a Nigerian powerhouse, in 2022.
Culled from Eumisel’s publication.
Most expensive EPL deals so far this summer
Premier League clubs aren’t messing around this summer with a host of big-money deals done already.
Manchester City and Liverpool dominated the top-flight last season and have wasted no time in bolstering their all-star attacking ranks in the transfer market.
City confirmed their stunning deal for superstar Erling Haaland early on in the summer before Liverpool responded by splashing out the biggest fee of the window so far on Darwin Nunez.
Tottenham have secured the second most expensive deal of the market by shelling out £60million on Everton’s Richarlison. But not far behind them is Chelsea after they confirmed the signing of Raheem Sterling from City in a deal worth £50m.
Arsenal have also spent big on a former City player in Gabriel Jesus while Pep Guardiola has used that money to bring in Kalvin Phillips from Leeds.
There have been plenty of other top transfers confirmed in the Premier League with West Ham and Aston Villa also opening their chequebooks.
And we’ve still got plenty of time for more eye-catching deals to be done.
But who makes up the current top ten of the priciest Premier League transfers in the summer of 2022? talkSPORT has the full rundown,
Kylian Mbappe scored a stoppage-time penalty to seal Real Madrid’s win against nine-man Rayo Vallecano, after Jude Bellingham was forced off with injury.
Nobel Mendy’s foul on Brahim Diaz in the 100th minute gave Mbappe the chance to put Real to within one point of Barcelona in the La Liga title race.
Vinicius Jr had opened the scoring for Real early on, a few minutes after Bellingham went off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Rayo Vallecano fought back, and levelled just after the break through Jorge de Frutos.
Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga hit the woodwork for Real, while Vallecano were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes of normal time to go when Pathe Cisse was shown a straight red card for a crude challenge on Dani Cebellos.
The home fans had been agitated at times before Mbappe scored from the spot, and there was time for more drama when Pep Chavarria was shown a second yellow card and dismissed in the 103rd minute.
Bellingham was distraught when he fell to the ground clutching the back of his left thigh after 10 minutes, but the England international was seen to be walking unaided shortly afterwards.
Vinicius Junior struck soon after Bellingham’s exit, curling in a sublime shot after cutting in from the left flank but Real fans grew restless as Vallecano grew in confidence with Chavarria lashing a shot over the bar just before half-time.
De Frutos equalised with a clinical finish, sweeping in a knock-down from Alvaro Garcia with a first-time shot and Thibault Courtois stopped Vallecano taking the lead when he used his feet to save from Andrei Ratiu.
Mbappe seemed set to score when he went around Augusto Batalla after the Vallecano keeper had moved out of his penalty area, but the Real striker’s shot hit the bar.
Cisse was shown the red card after he caught Cebello on the left ankle, and Real went close to taking the lead again when Camavinga’s header struck the post.
Real’s late pressure seemed to be for nothing until Mendy caught Diaz high up, giving Mbappe the chance to strike for his 22nd goal in La Liga.
Chavarria received his second yellow card, for a push on Rodrygo, just before full-time as Real claimed their sixth straight win in La Liga while Vallecano remained just one point and a place above the relegation zone.
Hugo Ekitike turned the game on its head to stun former suitors Newcastle United as champions Liverpool recorded their first Premier League win of 2026.
Newcastle attempted to sign Ekitike in three transfer windows over the course of three and a half years, and how the visitors rued losing out to Liverpool in the race to recruit the lethal striker from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.
After scoring in the reverse fixture in August, the Frenchman came back to haunt Eddie Howe’s side once again at a buoyant Anfield with two goals in two minutes before half-time.
Anthony Gordon had initially opened the scoring for Newcastle with a fine finish, but Liverpool quickly showed their powers of recovery to go on and win the game comfortably thanks to a devastating double from Ekitike, a well-taken goal from Florian Wirtz and a close-range finish from an emotional Ibrahima Konate.
Ten-man Brentford claimed a brilliant win at Aston Villa yesterday to dent the hosts’ Premier League title ambitions.
Dango Ouattara’s fine strike stunned Villa minutes after Kevin Schade was sent off for pushing his studs into Matty Cash’s midriff.
The returning Tammy Abraham had a goal disallowed as Villa lost successive home league games for the first time in two years.
They remain third in the table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, while Keith Andrews’ Brentford sit seventh, four points adrift of the top five.
Striker Schade’s dismissal looked to have given Villa control, only for Ouattara to find the top corner.
Abraham thought he levelled three minutes into the second half after Caoimhin Kelleher parried Jadon Sancho’s strike, only for the goal to be ruled out – after a four-minute video assistant referee (VAR) review – as the ball went out before Villa attacked.
But there were no late heroics as Brentford defended valiantly to hold on for a deserved and impressive victory.
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