Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari has praised the state owned football team, Katsina United for being the only club among the four newly promoted clubs to escape relegation at the end of the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League season.
The other three teams that got promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League last season alongside Katsina United but were relegated at the end of the just-concluded league are Remo Stars of Sagamu, Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) of Ilorin and Gombe United FC of Gombe.
Governor Masari, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Sports, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, said the feat proves that United’s victory of last year’s Super-4 was not a fluke, adding that he expects the club to soon become one of the top teams in the Nigerian apex football league.
While appreciating the foundation laid by the leadership of the club, Masari noted that the future of football in Katsina State is bright, following the emergence of Katsina U-15 team composed of 100 percent local players as the second best in the maiden edition of the NPFL/LaLiga U-15 tournament, and the promotion of Katsina United feeder team to the second tire of Nigeria professional league, NNL.
The governor commended the support enjoyed by the club from Katsina State indigenes, and assured that his administration will continue to support sports in the state to thrive.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant on sports, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, has attributed the successes recorded by the state football teams to the assistance, vision, commitment and focused leadership of the state governor.
He also praised the governor for the purchase of 23 forms for Katsina state indigenous coaches to study at the National Institute for Sports, out of which 19 of them have been offered admission for the next academic session.
