BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
The reigning champions of Cameroon MTN Elite One Championship, Victoria United, will operate on a budget of FCFA 1.1 billion for the 2025 sports season.
The plan was unveiled at the club head quarter in Ngeme, Limbe, by the club’s president, Valentine Nkwain, Thursday November 28, 2024. According to him, the money will be used to recruit new players, retain old players, pay salaries, and provide for logistics. The huge investment, he said, is to elevate the club to a new high both locally and internationally.
“We aspire to be a force to reckon with,” Nkwain said. “We are striving to create a legacy of excellence, built on the foundation of discipline, hard work, and unwavering commitment,” he added.
Nkwain Valentine aka Bobdidy
To foster the development of football, he said the club is harnessing youth talent by nurturing and providing necessary resources to the young players to reach their full potential. “We are equally strengthening community engagement. We believe in giving back to the community that supports us,” he stated.
In a move to foster gender equality and empower women, the club has created a female team. This female team will be managed on a budget of FCFA 50 million. Valentine Nkwain did not say much about the female team and how he aspires to run it.
He said the country needs to wake from slumber. To groom young talents, he is also creating the under-15 and under-17 teams of Victoria United. He believes in achieving results in two to three years. Nkwain equally added that Victoria United will have a reserve team.
And the budget for that is FCFA 150 million. The team can step in to fill the vacuum in case of lapses. To make football better, he said he has invested in technology by buying match trackers to provide data which cost him FCFA 50 million, plus FCFA 6 million for GPS.
Nkwain stressed the importance of caring for his players, noting the club is providing free accommodation and welfare for all players. “We understand that the player’s welfare is paramount to success,” he said.
He ushered players into their new quarters, where they lived and ate for free. “Our Victoria United dinner is providing everything for free to our players,” he said, adding that it boosts their capabilities and mental stability. “Our investment is geared at making us champions,” he added.
Threats
Nkwain said since he took over the presidency of Victoria United, he has received life threats and attacks. He said some indigenes are angry that he is a non-indigene who is running the club. As such some have resorted to using witchcraft.
“They said I was not going to win matches at Centenary Stadium. We have played 12 matches in Middle Farms and Centenary Stadiums and won none.” However, Nkwain believes that the God he serves is bigger than anyone else. “People are bent on frustrating Victoria United, Opopo”, he said.
He however maintained that in spite the black magic, attacks, and threats, he will overcome, and he is not afraid of anything. “We will scatter what they have done. I am still alive and healthy. I am not afraid of anybody. They can’t do anything,” he said.