By Bitrus Osagie
Fans of Gombe United Football Club have expressed concerns following the exit of Aliyu Zubairu, the Technical Adviser of Gombe United Football Club’s and the mass exodus of key players of the club without any replacements.
The fans who expressed their concerns in separate interviews with Our Correspondent on Friday in Gombe said it had become worrisome that no replacement had been made since the exit of Zubairu.
Barbuwa Kalla decried the “long silence” over the replacement of Zubairu and the key players who had left the club, “this is not good as most clubs had begun full preparation and training ahead of the new season.”
According to him, if the league is starting in three weeks and nothing seems to be going on in Gombe United, then fans need to worry because having a club in NPFL is a big achievement that must not be thrown away.
“It is really worrisome that Gombe United has not started training ahead of the commencement of the 2023/2024 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)
” Since the coach (Zubairu) left, a new coach has not been unveiled, and key first 11 players have left and we have no replacement so far.
“The most painful part is that we lost a good coach in Zubairu to El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, an NNL club which is unacceptable because Gombe United plays in NPFL and we should be able to keep our technical adviser.
“We need to buy good players and get a coach to replace the ones that have left so we can enjoy good football when the league starts,” he said.
Usman Pantami, a fan who lives in Pantami community said he had been a fan of the club for over 20 years and was not happy with recent development at the club.
Pantami said that he was worried that the lack of attention by the state government towards the wellbeing of the players and coach in recent time could lead them to relegation.
“Zubairu had cited poor working condition in spite of the fact that he did very well with the club for four seasons,” he said.
He appealed to the state government to put measures in place to ensure good condition of service for the incoming coaching crew.
Mr Suleiman Musa, a resident of Bogo community in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State said the fact that Gombe United players were leaving the club in large number showed all was not well with the club.
Musa appealed to the state government to revamp the club as well as renovate the stadium and purchase new pitch to ensure that youths who visit the stadium continued to enjoy the game of football.
“I can tell you that the passion, we have for our own clubs in Gombe State is unmatched.
“We come out en masse to watch football and I don’t think there is any NPFL club that can match our attendance besides Kano Pillars.
“This is why we are now worried because weekend is always good when your club is playing in NPFL.
“You get to watch all the big names in the domestic league coming to your state.”
Others who spoke to our correspondent expressed similar concerns while urging the state government to engage a new coach, recruit new players for the club and begin preparation for the new season.
Our correspondent reports that Zubairu had on July 19 confirmed his exit from the club after four seasons, citing poor condition of service for his decision not to renew his contract with the club.
