By Daily Sports on March 7, 2019

Daily Sports has heard that a high Court judge has ruled in favor of Douglas Idahosa, a Benin City-based football coach, over the ownership of BJ-Megapp FC.

The ownership of the club has been an issue of hot legal dispute between licensed football agent Emmanuel Echiejile, the elder brother of long time Super Eagles player and vice captain of the national team to last year’s Russia 2018 World Cup Elderson Echiejile and Douglas Idahosa, who founded BJ Foundation football club around the late ’90s.

At the heart of this dispute is who was supposed to receive money paid by professional clubs in Europe as training compensation for the signing of striker Isaac Success (who plays for Watford in the English premier league) and Mikel Agu (who is currently contracted to Porto but is on loan to Vitoria Setubal of Portugal).

Daily Sports expects to get the exact copy of the court judgement soon.

Idahosa has however taken to Facebook to celebrate, saying he “...sincerely thanks all our supporters for this breaking news: Elderson and Emmanuel Echiejile have been defeated in the Federal High Court today over the ownership of BJ-Megapp FC. Who God has blessed, no man can stop.”

Emmanuel Echiejile came into the picture of football fans in Edo state circa 2009 after the successful transfer of his younger brother Eldeson to FC Rennes of French Ligue 1.

Buoyed by the heavy returns from part of the transfer fee of his brother, Emmanuel Echiejile thought of the possibility of reaping more from a working relationship with BJ Foundation, a club bristling with young and quality players ,which also was the club where his brother largely played his grassroots football.

Emmanuel Echiejile formed a working relationship with Douglas Idahosa and thence came the change of name of the club to BJ-Megapp FC.

The exact nature of sponsorship that occasioned that change of name is what has been the subject of debate. Idahosa maintained in an interview with a Nigerian newspaper that he only employed Emmanuel Echiejile as a PRO for the club, while Echiejile had stated that he formed a club called Megapp FC.

What was however clear is that the bulk of players BJ Foundation had then were the same players Megapp FC claimed to have.

Owngoalnigeria.com reported last year that, "English Premier League side Watford paid €25,000 as training and compensation grant for Success, but according to Douglas, Echiejile’s elder brother who has been dismissed by the club is laying claims to the money.

According to Douglas, Echiejile approached the club to employ his elder brother Emmanuel and they oblige him as a former player of the team, but the club later dismissed him after he made way with €150,000 due to the team for the transfer of Mikel Agu to FC Porto.

“Elderson Echiejile and his elder brother Emmanuel Echiejile wants to defraud his youth B J Foundation/Megapp FC in Benin City claiming the ownership of the money 25,000 Euro Watford fc pay for Isaac Success training compensation. He went to Fidelity Bank Sapele road Benin City, and showed them the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) certificates that he is the owner of the club,” Idahosa said.

“In 2009 Elderson Echiejile begged me saying his brother had no job and should work with me in my club as PRO, but when he defrauded us of 150,000 Euros that was paid by FC Porto through him for the transfer of Mikel Agu we terminated his stay with us. Elderson begged me and assured that he will pay us back the money. We are yet to hear from him.

“He returned in October last year (2017) with papers claiming he owns the team. How can someone who has never owned or trained a single player lay claim to a club that is duly registered with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) via the Edo State FA. His claims are laughable’.”

The unsavory case serves as lesson for those involved in the business of grassroots football clubs administration, both as club owner or prospective sponsor of a football club, to be careful and clear as to the kind of working relationship they enter into, and to make sure that the details of the working relationship are clearly inked in legally binding papers.

•Photo shows Isaac Success whose transfer to Europe ignited a bitter battle between his former coach and a football agent who claimed to own the youth club from which Success was transferred.

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 7, 2019

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