Rangers CEO Apologises to Fans After CAF Champions League Exit, Vows to Rise Again
Rangers International General Manager and CEO, Amobi Ezeaku, has apologised to the club’s supporters following their exit from the CAF Champions League, promising that the team will learn from the defeat and return stronger.
The Nigerian champions were eliminated on Friday after losing 3-0 to Algeria’s MC Alger at the Ali La Pointe Stadium in Algiers.
Rangers had won the first leg 2-0 in Abeokuta but failed to protect their advantage, losing 3-2 on aggregate to miss out on a place in the group stage.
Hours after the match, Ezeaku shared an emotional message on social media, admitting that the result was painful for the club and its supporters.
In a message titled “To the Rangers Family: Our Story Is Bigger Than One Defeat,” he apologised for the disappointing result and acknowledged the expectations of the fans.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am sincerely sorry that we could not give you the result, the joy, and the pride you deserved tonight,” Ezeaku wrote.
He also reminded supporters of the club’s progress in recent seasons, including their Nigeria Premier Football League title wins in the 2023/2024 and 2025/2026 campaigns.
According to him, Rangers have worked hard to rebuild the club, restore supporters’ confidence and strengthen their structures.
“Please, remember where we were in 2023 and how far we have come. We inherited challenges, but we chose to rebuild. Through sacrifice, difficult decisions, resilience, and collective belief, we won the league in 2023/2024, faced setbacks, and rose again to become champions in 2025/2026,” he stated.
Ezeaku admitted that he shared in the disappointment of the supporters but promised that the club would learn from the experience.
“If I could take away the disappointment you feel tonight, I would. If I could give you the victory your hearts desired, I would do so without hesitation. But all I can offer you now is my sincere apology, my honest commitment, and my promise that we will learn from this experience and keep fighting,” he added.
The Rangers chief also urged fans not to allow the defeat to overshadow the progress made by the club, assuring them that their loyalty and expectations remained important.
He further promised that the club would continue working towards its ambitions despite the setback.
“I cannot promise a journey without setbacks, but I can assure you that our ambition remains intact. We will keep working, keep building, and keep fighting to make you proud,” he said.
Ezeaku insisted that the defeat would not mark the end of Rangers’ journey, calling on supporters to remain united with the team.
“We have come too far to surrender our dreams now. The Rangers story is still being written, and this defeat will not be its final chapter.
“We may have lost a match, but we have not lost our way. We are hurting, but we are not broken,” he wrote.
He concluded by thanking the supporters for their patience and continued belief in the club, promising that Rangers would keep working to achieve their goals.
“Tonight, we feel the pain. Tomorrow, we return to the work. We will rise again. We will fight again. And we will keep building the Rangers we all dream of,” Ezeaku declared.
He ended his message with the club’s popular slogan, “NEVER SAY DIE!”
### How Rangers Lost to MC Alger
Rangers took a two-goal advantage into the return leg after winning 2-0 in Abeokuta but struggled to contain MC Alger in the second half.
Chahreddine Boukholda opened the scoring for the Algerian side in the 58th minute before Guinean forward Mohamed Bangoura equalised the tie on aggregate with six minutes remaining in regular time.
As the match appeared to be heading for a penalty shootout, Soufiane Bayazid scored in the third minute of stoppage time to complete MC Alger’s comeback.
The goal gave the Algerian side a 3-0 victory on the night and a 3-2 aggregate win, ending Rangers’ hopes of reaching the CAF Champions League group stage.
