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Challenges of Nigerian local clubs of yesteryears

By Gregory Austin Nwakunor
26 November 2016   |   4:15 am
On Sunday, October 2, 2016 Rangers International FC of Enugu (a.k.a The Flying Antelopes) came full circle. The club, which was the inaugural winner of the National Division One League, then called Amachree Gold Cup,....
Rangers FC

Rangers FC

On Sunday, October 2, 2016 Rangers International FC of Enugu (a.k.a The Flying Antelopes) came full circle. The club, which was the inaugural winner of the National Division One League, then called Amachree Gold Cup, defeated El Kanemi Warriors FC of Maiduguri by four unreplied goals to lift the Nigerian Professional League trophy. This league victory came 32 years after it last lifted the trophy.

Despite the eye-catching football, Rangers had often come short when it mattered most. However, this year, they streaked ahead with fluid, attacking play that the ‘Coal City’ boys were known for.

With a deep squad well marshaled by the intelligent coach, Imama Amakpakabo, Beijing 1985 hero, produced a quality of football rarely seen on the domestic league.

Founded immediately after the civil war, Rangers represented the Igbo peoples’ movement. Through the team’s numerous successes, in the aftermath of the civil war, the Igbos regained the confidence needed to reintegrate themselves into mainstream Nigeria, after the devastating effects of the lost civil war.

Rangers’ victory in 2016 and when it won the inaugural tourney marks 45 years of domestic league competition in Nigeria. The once grandiose competition has gone through a bittersweet history. There has been generational shift among the players, the coaches and administrators and a marked improvement in terms of club’s ability to generate income.

Four decades on and there has been more than a score of players to remember such as, the 1993 African Footballer of the Year Rashidi Yekini, ‘The Mathematical’ Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal, Christian Chukwu, Emmanuel Okalla, Aloysius Atuegbu, Peter Rufai, Dosu Joseph, Ike Shorumu, Friday Ekpo, Chibuzor Ehilegbu, Henry Nwosu, Stephen Keshi, Emeka Nwanna, Vincent Enyeama, Obinna Nwaneri, Ajibade Omolade, Dele Aiyenugba and Romanus Orjinta.

With a spot in the CAF Champions League to worry about and the million dollars jackpot for second round qualifiers, a release valve in the pressure pot has continuously been applied.

Since the inaugural contest, which had six teams competing, the Nigerian football league, now in its third era, has metamorphosed with a lot of carcasses and clubs going under.

The first era ended in 1989, with Rangers International as the dominant team. In the 19 seasons that the era lasted, there were eight different winners. Rangers had six victories, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, now Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) had three, same as Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri, now Heartland of Owerri. Bendel Insurance of Benin had two, while Mighty Jets of Jos, Racca Rovers of Kano, New Nigeria Bank of Benin and Leventis United of Ibadan triumphed once each.

This era was that of football-for-football sake. The states, government parastatals and a few private individuals owned clubs. The players were passionate and financial remuneration was appalling.

The first 19 years had Asaba Textile Mills, later Asaba Summit, P&T Vasco Da Gama, Water Corporation (Asejire Babes), Standard of Jos, DIC (Rancher) Bees of Kaduna, Calabar Rovers and Sharks of Port Harcourt. There was equally the surprise team of Nigerian football, Ayufsalam Rocks of Ilorin, which was led by Charles Tete. The team caused a stir in 1976 FA Cup, losing out in the final to Rangers International.

On May 12, 1990, the league was given a name and it was then known as the “Professional League”. This was done with the aim of modernising the game and making the clubs self-dependent. It was established under Decrees 10 and 11 of the Acts of Parliament which stipulated that a Professional Football League be established in Nigeria and also stated that professional clubs should be seen as limited liability companies each governed by well-organised board of directors who are required to hold annual general meetings, present audited accounts of the club, build up a youth/feeder teams and build a stadium of their own within five years of being registered with the Professional League Department.

To assist Professional League clubs to achieve these stated goals in timely fashion, the Federal Government granted all 56 professional club-sides that made up the inaugural Professional League Top and Lower division a five-year tax moratorium on all their incomes beginning from the year 1990.

Prior the inauguration of professional league, there was serious complain by club owners different from state about the cost of running football in the country. Two of the biggest clubs then (1984 and 1986), Leventis United and Abiola Babes, pulled out, leaving the league less competitive.

Football pundits believed that with the introduction of profession football, the ravenous problem facing the round leather game in the country would be a thing of the past. But less than six years after, it was discovered that the domestic league was actually in deep trouble.

The second era sign-posted the death of domestic league, as wealthier leagues in Europe and Africa mined top talents at home.A lot of the clubs went under, including four former champions: Julius Berger FC of Lagos, Stationery Stores of Lagos, Udoji United of Awka and BCC Lions of Gboko. Many of the clubs were victims of the economic crisis that choked the life out of football.

Enyimba of Aba dominated the second era. In a classic rag to riches story, Enyimba rose from being the dog-food in Nigeria football to top dog of African football. The Peoples’ Elephant, incidentally, won the country’s first and only champions’ League. It won the trophy on December 12, 2003, and reclaimed it – the first time a team had managed to successfully defend the title in over 30 years – on December 12, 2004.

Enyimba broke the jinx that saw Rangers fail against Hafia of Guinea in 1975; IICC Shooting Stars in 1984; Iwuanyanwu Nationale against Entente Setif in 1988 and Shooting Stars misfiring penalty kicks against Zamalek in 1996.

Though, Enyimba is still very strong in the third era, like Kano Pillars, which is the most successful of the teams in the Premier League era, with four victories, the league that started in 2003, has not attracted fans as much as desired.

At the end of the 2006 season, the league board changed its schedule so that it could closely match the common European regular season structure (which starts in August and ends in May). The name was changed to the Nigeria Professional Football League and is managed by the Nigeria Professional League Board.

In 2012 the NPL was ranked as the best in Africa and 24th best in the world by the IFFHS, the rating puts it a spot above the Scottish Premier League for the year.

But as ever, the true measure of success will be the fortunes of the players, managers and the clubs, and on that score, a certain level of apprehension is comes in with IFFHS’s ratings.

A priority for fans, perhaps, more than ever before is good football. The ‘villageness’ of the globe has made it possible for Nigerians to stay glued to their TV sets and even visit mini stadium or viewing centre to watch good football from Europe. Only when this is done at home and when the teams become competitive would the fans rush back to the local stadia to watch matches.

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