Victors, vanquished… Nigeria’s Federation Cup history gets richer

Enyimba, Dolphin, 3SC, Kano Pillars, El-Kanemi  Warriors, Enugu Rangers are few of the football clubs in Nigeria that have participated in the Federation Cup since it started in 1945. In this write-up, TELIAT SULE examines how the football clubs from the six geopolitical zones have performed in the yearly competition.

Chinonso Okonkwo’s goal which gave Enyimba Football Club of Aba the 2014 Federation Cup trophy brought the total goals scored by winners and runners-up at the Federation Cup finals to 232 (excluding penalty shoot outs and walkovers) from inception till date.

This year’s final was the 69^th edition since the competition debuted as Governor’s Cup in 1945. Since then, all the football clubs that won the trophy have all scored 171 goals, while runners-up have scored 61 goals. Enyimba’s victory was the ninth occasion a club would win the coveted trophy back to back. Interestingly, football clubs from the South-East geopolitical zone recorded four out of the nine times such feats were recorded. In fact, Enugu Rangers FC, also from the South East, is the only club in the history of the competition to have won the trophy in three straight years, from 1974 to 1976.

As the defending champions, Enyimba FC went into the final match on November 23, 2014, against Dolphin FC to retain the trophy, a feat the doggedness of its players made possible. Dolphin FC’s plan was to take its tally to five having won the trophy four times in the past, while its challenger had three. In a way, Enyimba’s winning goal was historic in the sense that the club is now at par with Dolphin FC, with each club having won the trophy four times apiece. Enyimba FC won it in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2014, while Dolphin FC won it in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Coincidentally, for each club, two of the trophies were won via penalty shoot out.

The yearly competition now known as the Federation Cup has undergone many changes overtime, most especially in its name and sponsorship. Between 1945 and 1953, the annual competition was known as the Governor’s Cup (GC). Back then, the dominant clubs were Lagos Marine, which won the maiden edition, Lagos Railways, Lagos UAC and Lagos PAN Bank. Kano Pillars FC of Kano State won the last edition of GC in 1953, and it is the only club among the earliest clubs to have won the Federation Cup and still remains up till this day.

The final match of the 1966 edition was not played at all because the runner up did not show up and hence it was a walkover for the winner, just as the competition was suspended in 1973, due to the All Africa Games and National Sports Festival that were concurrently held that year.

Its name was changed to FA Cup between 1954 and 1959. During that period, Calabar FC won the maiden edition in 1954, while Ibadan Lions, which later metamorphosed into Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan (3SC) won the last edition in 1959.

Whether as Governor’s or FA Cup, a coincidence happened when the competition’s name was changed. Kano Pillars, which won the last edition in 1953, when the competition was referred to as the Governor’s Cup, lost at the final of the maiden edition when it became FA Cup in 1954.

Similarly, Ibadan Lions, the winner of the last edition under FA Cup in 1959, failed to defend it when it became the Challenge Cup in 1960.

The competition witnessed some form of stability in its name between 1960 and 1998, when it was known as the Challenge Cup. This is because 38 editions of the competition were held under this name, compared with nine editions under Governor’s Cup and six editions under FA Cup. It was also an era when private individuals began to venture into the business of owning and managing football clubs. Examples of clubs owned by individuals were Abiola Babes and Iwuanyanwu Nationale. Altogether, the most outstanding clubs during this period were Rangers FC of Enugu, which won it five times; BCC Lions of Gboko and Stationery Stores of Lagos, each with four trophies and Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan, which won it three times. Wiki Tourists of Bauchi won the last edition of the Challenge Cup in 1998.

However, from 1999 up till 2008, the competition was held as Coca Cola FA Cup. Plateau United won the maiden edition while the last edition was won by Ocean Boys of Bayelsa. The name was further changed to the Federation Cup in 2009, and the current champions, Enyimba FC, have won 50 percent of the editions held so far.

The performances of clubs from the six geopolitical zones at this level of competition vary disproportionately. The North-West geopolitical zone has the least trophies in the Federation Cup competition, as clubs from that part of the country have only won it twice. Kano Pillars in 1953 and Kaduna United in 2010. El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri (two) and Wikki Tourists of Bauchi (one), ensuring that the North-East geopolitical zone was better than North West by a trophy. The clubs in the North Central, of which the most outstanding is the BCC Lions, have all won seven federation trophies to date.

In the South East, Enugu Rangers (five), Enyimba FC (four) and Heartland FC (three), formerly Iwuanyanwu Nationale, dominated the space with 12 trophies to their credit. In the same vein, football clubs from the South South have won 12 trophies till date, of which Port Harcourt-based clubs such as Dolphin FC and Port Harcourt FC have seven trophies to their credit.

The clubs that are based in the South West have won 32 trophies or 46 percent of all the Federation Cups to date. The breakdown shows that Lagos-based clubs have won 20 trophies; Ibadan-based clubs: 3SC FC and Leventis United, 10 times, while Abeokuta-based club, the defunct Abiola Babes, won two times.

On the flip side, Dolphin FC’s loss in 2014, was the 17^th time a club from the South South would lose at the finals of the Federation Cup. At this point, clubs from the North Central, having also lost 17 times at the finals, share the same characteristics with their counterparts from the South South. Clubs from the South West have lost 13 times at the finals; South East, 10 times; North West, eight times, while the clubs from the North East have experienced four losses from inception till date.

The Jos-based clubs, especially the Mighty Jets of Jos, have lost the most at the finals of the Federation Cup with 10 losses from inception till date. In the same manner, Warri-based clubs have lost seven times and followed by Enugu Rangers, which have lost six times at the finals from inception till date.