MFM, Ilechukwu and Football When Dr Daniel Olukoya, General Overseer Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries provided avenues for youths to exhibit their talents through sports, Fidelis Ilechukwu was an early recruit for its football outreach.

It all began with the annual Dr D K Olukoya International Youth Football competition among MFM branches in Lagos, then pan Nigeria, and it soon became an African event as MFM teams from Togo, Cameroun, Southern Africa, Ghana, Congo etc met at MFM Prayer City.

Fidelis Ilechukwu and his MFM Yaba Headquarters team took control and won the first edition in 2007, but were dethroned by MFM Ilorin in 2008. He staged a comeback in 2009 to regain dominance of the Dr D K Olukoya International Youth Football competition.

Real competition started in 2010 when MFM Ikeja led by Nduka Ugbade stepped into the plate. Expectedly, Ilechukwu and Ugbade’s teams met in the final. It was a tensed final that drew The Who is who in sports in Nigeria to the Yaba Sports complex in Lagos...

I recall the buildup to this game, and how Ilechukwu promised MFM Ikeja parading Wilfred Ndidi, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Joshua Enaholo, Atu Irumekhai, Isah Akor, Nelson Kenedinum etc hell in the final. It was an opportunity for him to prove that he is a good coach.

MFM Ikeja defeated MFM Yaba 2-1 to emerge champions of the Dr D K Olukoya International Youth Football competition. MFM Yaba’s solitary goal came off the boots of Enugu Rangers striker, Ifeanyi George who died recently in a ghastly motor accident.

Although Ilechukwu never hid his admiration for Ugbade, a man he describes as his mentor, but there’s fierce rivalry between them.
And come 2011, MFM Ikeja and MFM Yaba Headquarters made the final again but the event didn’t hold as a United MFMFC was born.

In the absence of Ugbade who was with the Nigerian cadet team, Golden Eaglets, Ilechukwu took charge of MFMFC and breezed through the amateur divisions 3 and 2 ranks, and MFMFC was gifted a slot in the Nigeria National League (NNL) by Bolowotan FC in 2014.

It should be noted that Ilechukwu had on his first mission as a football coach outside of Nigeria won the maiden edition of the Church World Cup held in Goa, India in 2014. The event had churches from Brazil, Portugal, Colombia etc as participants...

MFMFC under Fidelis Ilechukwu spent only a season in the NNL before gaining promotion to the elite division, Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in 2015. He had won all the competitions in Lagos state.
And the name Kamara was on everyone’s lips.

The Working One had become one of the most talked about coach in the land. Not surprising, in the 2017/18 season, Ilechukwu’s MFMFC narrowly missed wining the league title on the last day but qualified to represent Nigeria in the CAF Champions League. Wow!

The excellent job done by this Nnewi born tactician didn’t go unnoticed as he was rewarded with an appointment as an assistant to the home based national team/U-23.
Ilechukwu had paid his dues and after about 13 years at MFMFC it was time to move on.

In an elaborate ceremony in Owerri, Ilechukwu was unveiled as Heartland Football Club of Owerri new manager in 2019 by then Governor, Emeka Ihedioha. He charged him with the responsibility of repositioning the team at the top of Nigerian Football.

For those who watched Heartland’s game, the Ilechukwu hardwork showed week-in-week out ans he had the Naze Millionaires in 13th place, a team plagued with paucity of funds and loads of unpaid salaries.