Vandrezzer FC: How Joe Udofia is taking Nigerian football by storm
March 28, 2021The story of Vandrezzer FC is the story of an unknown team taking a big footballing nation like Nigeria by storm with the highest standard of operation attained in European countries.
Led by Joe Udofia, Vandrezzer FC wants to make a name in the few years to come.
Limited by the current position of a second division league team, Vandrezzer is yet to showcase its facilities and standard to the outside world.
At the level of a second division club, the team arguably one of the most organized football club in the country which has high standard medical facilities for its players, a good welfare package and lots more.
With the intent of moving to the Nigeria Professional Football League, the country’s top tier football competition, the club owner Joe Udofia had made several arrangements including the signing of foreign players.
The journey so far and how everything started
Club owner Joe Udofia has a plan, a clear ambitions, he wants to create a football club from Nigeria, capable of winning international trophies just like Enyimba had done in the past, making them the most successful football club in Nigeria.
But he wants to do it with a very high standard. The reason behind the success of Al Ahly Egypt, Zamalek, Wydad Casablanca, is simply consistency a better structure and organization.
These and more are behind the mega ambition of the owner who owns Vandrezzer Energy Services Limited.
His ambitions are clear, he wants to build a big team capable of competing at the highest level without having problems just as how some top Nigerian clubs had faced in the past.
However, there have also problems the club has faced in its bid to become Nigeria’s biggest football club in the nearest future.
A show of high standard facilities no team had offered
Arguably the richest league among the second division clubs and probably one of the top richest football club in the country, Vandrezzer FC is a show of class.
An exhibition of high international standard in terms of structure, organization.
The ever-increasing number of fans and followers shows the efforts made by the management of the club towards achieving the ambitions of the owner Joe Udofia.
How the club plans to play in the Nigeria Professional Football League next year
This looks like the hardest so far. Currently, in Group B 1 Southern Conference, Vandrezzer faces teams like Shooting Stars who are record Champions when it comes to Nigerian football.
Go Round and Stationery Stores. Some of the toughest clubs in the country.
Vandrezzer parted ways with Raphael Everton. But this was not any stumbling block for them as they have continued to perform at the highest level.
To secure a ticket, consistency would be the only key to achieving it. Meaning they’ll have to pick points on the road, as well as winning their home games.
Vandrezzer about joining a foreign league instead of passing through the lower division
It was built by frustration, anger and low confidence in the system, which led the team to consider leaving the Nigerian National League, the second division which they hope to qualify out to grab a promotion ticket.
Before the start of covid-19 lockdown, the Nigeria National League failed to start months after the Professional Football League had already commenced.
After a series of extraordinary meetings by the board members of the league, it still was not clear as to when the league would kick-off.
This delay was behind the decision of the club’s manager to consider quitting the league for a foreign league where they would at least have the chance to compete without fear.
Although Joe Udofia would have easily bought a promotion ticket to the Professional League, he was all about promotion through the regular season process.
According to footy Naija, there were plans ongoing at that time to leave Nigeria possibly for a Professional League in South America, Asia or any other country within Africa which was started on the club’s official website.
Relocation to a new location
Before the start of the 2020/2021 Nigeria National League season, Vandrezzer FC decided to move to a temporary location that would serve as their home ground for the rest of the season, pending the completion of the club’s official stadium.
The management finally moved to the Agege Township Stadium in Lagos which was certified by the National League board before the kick of the league season.
Vandrezzer FC built with vision currently eyes one of the tickets that would earn them a place in the Nigeria Premier League for the 2021/2022 season.
How to achieve this has been behind the club’s busy schedule since the start of the year.
The Nigeria Football scene is competitive. The previous season before the league failed to start, Vandrezzer finished poorly at the end of the league season and had to start all over again.
But in 2021, qualification for the NPFL is the agenda and the players are also prepared for it.
