By Duru Kizito, Owerri.
There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Heartland FC, the pride of Imo State and once a fearsome name in Nigerian football, is staring at relegation for the third time in six years under Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration. The club is languishing in 17th position with just a point separating her and Akwa United on 18th whom they play this weekend in a make or mare match. It’s not just shameful. It’s disastrous.
How does a club with such history, such loyal following, and such emotional investment from its people keep getting relegated under the same leadership? Heartland has now gone down thrice since Uzodimma became governor. The club had its first taste of relegation in 2016, again in 2022, and most recently in 2024. Unconfirmed reports even suggest that a staggering 500 million naira was allegedly paid to the league management body just to have the club reinstated after the last relegation. That wasn’t progress. It was patchwork. Desperation disguised as intervention. And here we are again, dangling at the edge of another fall.
The tragedy is not just in relegation. It is in the collapse of structure. Heartland FC is not just suffering poor results. It is suffering abandonment. The players are owed salaries. The coaching crew is demoralized. The management is chaotic. There is no vision. No direction. No ambition. This is not a football club struggling with form. This is a football club being buried under the weight of neglect and bad leadership.
And leadership is exactly where the buck stops.
Take a look at Abia State. That state has not one, but two clubs; Abia Warriors and Enyimba International, competing in the Nigeria Professional Football League. Not just participating, but thriving. As of now, both clubs sit comfortably in 3rd and 6th positions on the league table. Enyimba, Nigeria’s most decorated club, is still a force. Abia Warriors, though younger, is a well-run and competitive team. If Abia can successfully fund, organize, and inspire two professional clubs to compete for the league title, why is Heartland our only representative, with all its rich history, fighting relegation every other season? It boils down to one thing: leadership.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia is fully aware of his responsibilities. He understands that governance is not about flying in and out of Abuja for endless, often fruitless meetings. It is about being present. About building systems that work. About paying attention to the things that matter to the people. You can see the reflection of his leadership in the way Abia’s institutions are run, including its football clubs.
Can we honestly say the same about Governor Uzodimma? Since taking office, has he watched Heartland FC play a single home game? Has he visited the Dan Anyiam Stadium to experience what the people feel? Does he even know the league position of Heartland? It’s entirely possible he doesn’t. That’s how far removed he is from the everyday realities of governance. He appears absent. Detached. Out of sync with his responsibilities. And the consequences are visible, on the pitch and beyond.
A study of Imo's budget for sports for this year is N1.585billion as capital expenditure and N1.352billion as recurrent expenditure. Given that other than football, other sports aren't given attention by the Imo State government, one is therefore left to wonder why they club is still underfunded and poorly managed. With such a large amount allocated to both capital and recurrent expenditures, one would expect the club to be well-funded and able to function optimally. Yet, the reality is that the club has been starved of the resources necessary for its upkeep, player acquisition, training, and general operations. The mismatch between the available funds and the management of these resources raises serious questions about the sincerity of the state government.
And yet, the people of Imo love Heartland. I have been to Dan Anyiam Stadium thrice this season to support our club. I saw both old and young cheering the team. Football is more than a game. It is community. It is healing. It is economy. It is empowerment. And if the Uzodimma government cannot see this, then what exactly do they see? But you wouldn't stay long in the stadium before you figure the core challenges of the team- funding and leadership. A little funding. A little vision. A little leadership. That’s all. But here we are again praying for arithmetic to save us. Simply put, if Heartland fail to get a least a point in their last match of the season against Akwa United, they'll be relegated.
Imo State is crawling while others are moving. Education is in ruins. Agriculture is dead. Commerce is comatose. Sports are struggling. Nothing is being built. Nothing is thriving. We are a state on autopilot. A state governed by someone who seems more at home in Abuja than in Owerri.
As 2027 approaches, we must begin to ask the tough questions. What has this administration built? What legacy is being left behind? What is working in Imo? The people are tired. The system is exhausted. The state is struggling. We cannot afford another eight years of emptiness. Imo has suffered enough. The time to hold this government accountable is now.
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