Nigeria Professional Football League, (NPFL) side, Rangers, on Tuesday penned a five-year kit contract with Italian Sportswear manufacturers, Lotto, Completesports.com reports.
The contract signing ceremony took place at Rangers office on Lugard Avenue, Abakaliki Road, Enugu.
Prince Davidson Owumi, General Manager of the Coal City Flying Antelopes, and Barrister Emeka Ugwuarua, Rangers Admin Secretary signed the contract papers for the NPFL side, while Ositadinma Agu of Desgraf & Mart’s Limited and Barrister Nkem Iloeje signed for Lotto SPA Italia.
Under the terms of sponsorship deal, the kit manufacturers would provide enough jerseys, and other equipment to Rangers enough to afford the players the liberty of exchanging shirts with opponents after games.
The Italian sportswear outfit would also provide replicas that would be put on sale with both parties benefitting from the proceeds.
The contract with Lotto SPA Italia means the company will produce and brand all the football kits for the club.
“The contract is between the club, Rangers, and Desgraf & Mart’s Limited, D&M, who are Lotto agents in Nigeria,” Owumi said during the historic kits contract signing ceremony on Tuesday..
“The essence of this contract is to be a sort of relief in the funding of the club by the government.
“This is really a landmark occasion and we are indeed very glad to be associated with this. I strongly believe that it will go a long way towards letting our teeming fans have our sports kits, and as well generate income for the club.
“It is the first time a club in the country is attracting such a deal in Nigeria,” Owumi, a former Nigeria international added
Lotto and SPA representative, Ositadimma Agu, said that his company is a ‘world brand’.
“We decided to partner with a world brand club like Rangers International FC in our desire to collectively achieve optimum result,” he said.
On the road to lifting the 2016 NPFL title, their seventh domestic league title in history, Rangers donned Tico Select jerseys.
They will host AS Pelicans of Gabon in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup Second Preliminary Round on Sunday at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, hoping to overturn their 2-1 deficit in the first leg tie two weeks ago in Libreville.
By Sab Osuji
