The Federation Cup- 67 years of Nigerian History, through the prism of Footbal
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I was recently commissioned to
put together a compendium on facts on the Federation Cup Football by the Lagos State Government. Researching
the subject took me on a journey through my own memory of a competition that-
in my view embodied Nigeria’s historical journey- through its own 67 year
history. On commencing work on the compendium, I trawled through copious
historical records in libraries, Government and private records, in two continents
for this singular purpose- inclusive of my own private record of images and
documents.
I soon found that a mere compendium would not
do justice to a venerable national competition, of the nature of the Federation
Cup and as such I decided to write a wholesale history of the competition, from
its antecedent competition- The War Memorial Challenge Cup (started in 1942),
on to its formal successor competitions- The Governor’s Cup (1945), FA Cup (1955),
Challenge Cup (1960), Coca Cola FA Cup (1999), on to its present title as the
Federation Cup- (2009).
The resulting work gave me an
insight into what is undoubtedly the oldest existing National sports
competition and a living testimonial to Nigeria’s journey of transition through
various periods in its history from Colonial times, through to the present day.
What I sought to do through the book was not simply to chronicle the history of
the competition alone, but to start from the origins of football in Nigeria,
from the Victorian and Edwardian eras- even before the amalgamation of Nigeria
in 1914, on to the conception of the competition. Followed by a serial traverse of the all the teams, finals,
institutions and personalities of the competition in every single year from
1945 to 2011, as well an analysis of competition facts and statistics
through-out its life-cycle. All these resulted in the book – The Federation Cup
and Nigerian Football.
The purpose of this article is
less an advert for the book, than another fitting tribute to a truly great
competition and its great stars and teams.
We shall start with:
The Origins of the
Competition:
This would not be complete
without a consideration of the origins of Football in Nigeria. The first
documented football match played in Nigeria was in 1904, between the teams of
the Hope Waddell Training Institute and the crew of the visiting ship– HMS
Thistle. Football had previously been introduced into the Hope Waddell
institute, by its Principal Reverend James Luke in 1902. Football is also
documented as having been played Zaria as early as 1905, by European
missionaries, soldiers and traders.
In Lagos, informal matches had been
played around the old Race course for many years, however the greatest
influence for the formalisation of the game in Lagos was by a gentleman by the
name of Frederick Baron Mulford, a British Commercial Agent, who later served
as Games Master of Kings College, CMS Grammar School and St Gregory’s College
respectively. He it was, who organised matches between Europeans and Nigerians
at the Race Course, the same of which culminated in his instituting a
competition the Mulford Cup in 1930, competed for by teams in the Lagos area
and beyond. The seeds thrown by these two great men- The Reverend James Luke
and Frederick Baron Mulford, amongst others formed the basis of the growth of
football as Nigeria’s game.
The Antecedent Football Competitions:
Before the birth of the
Federation Cup, there had been a succession of Football competitions, which had
been vied for by teams- firstly at a provincial level and subsequently at the
national level. These are considered below:
The Beverley Cup
The first Football competition
held in Nigeria was the Beverley Cup- held in 1906, featuring the teams of Duke
Town School and the Southern Nigeria Regiment in Calabar, won by the latter.
This cup was donated by Captain W.H.Beverley, an Intelligence Officer attached
to the Southern Nigeria Regiment, who is also on record as having been
responsible for drawing some of the first Maps of Central and Eastern Nigeria.
The Southern Nigeria Regiment retained the cup in 1907. However in later years-
The Hope Waddell Institute was to dominate this competition comprehensively
between 1908-1915.
The Lagos City Cup
This competition was instituted
in the early 1920’s and featured some of the best teams in Lagos at the time.
The 1923 edition famously having been
won by the Diamond Football Club, which featured Frederick Baron Mulford and Dr
Nnamdi Azikiwe as players.
The Mulford Cup
This competition was instituted
by the influential Frederick Baron Mulford in 1930 and was could be said to be
the first national football competition, featuring teams such as the Lagos Town
Council (LTC), the Calabar XI, P & T XI , Corinthians (owned by the Labour
Department) The Police, PWD, and others
The Trenchard Cup
This competition was instituted
in 1939 in the Calabar area, replacing the Beverley Cup and competed for once
more by teams in and around the city. It was once more to be dominated by
School teams, such as the including Hope Waddell, Duke Town School and the West
African Peoples Institute.
Other Regional Competitions
Lagos district: The Pilot Cup- donated by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s West
African Pilot newspaper in 1949 and Lagos teams competed for this trophy on a
knock-out basis. The Zard Cup -competed for by Lagos Schools (and later became
the Principals Cup).
Northern Region: The Comet Cup, also donated by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe,
and was competed for by senior teams. The Parker Cup –competed for by schools
in the region.
Western Region: The Thermogene Cup- competed for mostly by school
teams in Western Nigeria (including the Mid-West).
Eastern Nigeria: The UNAFRICO Cup- competed for by senior football
teams and The Phensic Cup competed for by school teams.
The Birth of the national football
competition.
The War Memorial Challenge Cup:
On the advent of the Second World
War (1939-1945), Nigerian soldiers of the 81st and 82nd
West Africa Divisions had seen action in the Horn of Africa and Burma in the
service of the allied forces and had naturally had suffered casualties. The
Colonial Governor- Bernard Bourdillon, for the purpose of generating moral and
financial support for serving Nigerian Soldiers, had donated a trophy known as
the War Memorial Challenge Cup, for this purpose. Available records show that
this competition was won in 1942 by ZAC Bombers (owned by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe).
This was one of the first truly national football competitions, subsequently
dominated by the mighty Marine and Railways XI teams.
The Governor’s Cup/FA Cup
At the end of the Second World
War, the Colonial Governor-General, Sir Arthur Richards, donated a trophy to
replace the War Memorial Challenge Cup. This competition was to be the nation’s
most comprehensively representative competition, featuring teams from all over
the country playing first in regional and then in a two stage regional final, held
in Lagos. This competition was held between 1945 and 1954 under this name. It
is reputed that it was renamed the FA Cup in 1955 and whilst there is evidence
of formal change as said, however official records such as the Nigeria Handbook
– published by the Chief Secretary’s Office, continued to refer to the
competition as the Governor’s Cup, up till 1956. This completion was first won
by the Marine XI team, managed by Commander Alfred Ivey (Nigeria’s Director of
Marine at the time) and featured a certain Akinwale Wey, later to rise to the
rank of Vice-Admiral and Head of the Nigerian Navy.
This competition was in later
years to be dominated by the mighty Railway XI, managed by G.O.Urion and
T.B.Welch. This team was the greatest team of the era and famously featured the
dreaded “Urion line” of attack, with players like Teslim Balogun, Peter Anieke,
Sokari Dokuboh etc. This team was to win the Governor’s Cup/FA Cup six times in
this era (1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1956 and 1957). The first team from outside
of Lagos to win this competition was the giant-killing Kano Pillars XI of 1953.
The first team from the East of Nigeria to win the competition being the super
schoolboys of the Calabar XI, who (featuring a team of young players- mostly
from St Patrick’s College Calabar- such as Hubert Ejoh), won the competition in
1954, followed by the Port Harcourt Red Devils of 1955. The last competition in the series was the
1959 finals, which saw the emergence of the great Ibadan Lions XI, featuring
players like Teslim Balogun, Asuquo Ekpe, Ayo Adeniji and Dejo Fayemi- as first
time winners.
The Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup was instituted
in 1960 and existed till 1998, after which it was replaced by the Coca Cola FA
Cup in 1999 and was won in its first year by the revelation of the era- the ECN
Football club, which was to win the competition twice more in 1965 and 1970-
featuring players like Godwin Achebe, Lawrence Omeokachie, Emmanuel Oyii. The
other dominant teams of the competition being the great Ibadan Lions XI-
winners in 1961, 1966 and 1969 (variously featuring great players like Ayo
Adeniji, Teslim Balogun, Asuquo Ekpe, Jossy Ladipo, Dejo Fayemi etc). Also, the
legendary Stationery Stores FC, winners in 1968,1969, 1982 and 1990 (featuring
players like Cyril Okosieme, Sam Opone, Muyiwa Oshode, Inuwa Rigogo, Segun
Olumodeji, Leotis Boateng, Peter Rufai etc). Worthy of mention also being the
unlucky Plateau XI, which played in six successive finals between 1962-1967
(featuring players like Ismaila Mabo, Sam Garba Okoye and Sule Kekere), as well
as the final of 1970, without success.
The second half of the competition
between 1970 and 1998, was to witness the emergence of two of the greatest
teams in Nigerian football- Rangers International FC of Enugu (featuring Godwin
Achebe, Shedrack Ajaero, Luke Okpala, Christian Chukwu, Emmanuel Okala, Dominic
Ezeani, Ogidi Ibeabuchi, Sylvanus Okpala, Charles Okonkwo and others) and IICC
Shooting Stars of Ibadan- in 1970 (initially known as WNDC FC- featuring Sam
Ojebode, Amusa Adisa, Segun Odegbami, Kunle Awesu, Idowu Otubusin, Rashidi
Yekini etc).
Rangers and IICC were to dominate the competition in the 70’s and
80’s, winning the competition nine times between them. The other dominant teams
being BCC Lions of Gboko (featuring Moses and Terfa Kpakor, late Amir Angwe,
Felix Pilakyaa and others, who won the competition four times in 1989, 1993,
1994 and 1997. As well Bendel Insurance FC (featuring Victor Oduah, Sebastian
Broderick-Imasuen, Henry Ogboe, Felix Agboinfo, Sam Okpodu and others) who won the competition in 1972, 1978 and
1980. Also this era was to see the emergence of the great Borno team- El-Kanemi
Warriors, (variously featuring players like Kabiru Baleria, Bala Garba and at
one stage- Samson Siasia) who won the competition back-to-back in 1991 and
1992, under the coaching genius of Shuaibu Amodu, who had previously made his
mark at BCC Lions of Gboko.
The Challenge Cup competition
simply put, represented the Golden era of Nigerian football, with stadia filled
to capacity at final matches and teams building and consolidating a fanatic
devoted fan base, elevating players and teams to demi-God status. At its height,
this competition was an exhibition of the very best Nigerian football had to
offer. The flipside of this being that it was also to coincide with the exodus
of Nigerian footballers to European and other leagues, in itself one of the
causes of the decline of standards in the League, the competition and Nigerian
football in itself.
On a more positive note, other momentous
events in the era being the launch of the Nigerian League in 1972, of which the
inaugural edition was won by the otherwise perennially luckless- Mighty Jets of
Jos, the launch of Professional football in 1990 and victories in continental
and global competitions such as a Gold Medal at the All-Africa Games in 1973,
the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980 and 1994, Cup Winners Cup/CAF Cup in 1976,
1977, 1990, Champions League in the
World U-17 competitions of 1985 and 1993 and a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games
in 1996
The Coca-Cola FA Cup 1999-2009
Subsequent to the 1998 edition,
the Coca Cola conglomerate took over sponsorship of the competition from 1999,
introducing cash prizes for winning teams. This era was dominated by a teams,
which though active in previous era’s was to finally come into its own in the
new format- propelled by a young coaching genius Stanley Eguma. This was of
course- Dolphin FC – which had played previously under its former name Eagle
Cement. Dolphin was to singularly dominate this competition with four victories
in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. The competition otherwise saw a democratic spread of victories amongst old
warriors like Julius Berger, Niger Tornadoes, Enyimba FC Lobi Stars (formerly
Lobi Bank) and new-comers Dolphin FC. This era was also to see the end of the
agony of a great city; Jos was to finally clinch the Cup in 1999, through
Plateau United’s victory over Iwuanyanwu Nationale. This was the end of 48
years of pain- for two sets of teams from the great city, starting from the
finals of 1951 in which a formidable team of Sunday Dankaro, Teslim Balogun,
Moses Iloh and others had succumbed to the fire-power of the mighty Railways
FC, followed by the Mighty Jets of Jos in the 1970’s.
The Federation Cup 2009-Present
After the withdrawal of corporate
sponsorship by Coca Cola, a new trophy was donated by the Lagos State Government
for a new format of the competition of which the –then- NFA was responsible for
organising. Whilst the inaugural winner of the competition was the sublime
Enyimba FC of Aba, the dominant team is undoubtedly Heartlands FC of Owerri
(formerly Spartans/Iwuanyanwu), with back-back to victories in 2011 and 2012,
after an earlier victory by Kaduna United in 2010.
Conclusion
The Federation Cup in all its
formats from 1942 till date, as the oldest existing football competition,
represents the soul of Nigerian Football and if Football can be said to be
Nigeria’s game, this competition represents the soul of Nigeria’s game. Whilst
this great competition has suffered from socio-economic and cultural influences
beyond its control (i.e the pervasive influence of European football in the
modern information age), its enduring existence all through the years till date
in itself is a victory in itself inspite of its sadly reduced influence.
Kudos
has to be given to the Lagos State Government (through the Ministry of Youth,
Sports and Social Welfare) and the NFF for a renewed impetus in reviving the
Federation Cup to its former glory, as
was evident in the 2012 edition of the competition. Significantly at this
event, heroes of the Federation Cup were honoured by the Lagos State FA and the
NFF for their contributions to the competition and the game in Nigeria as a
whole. These were: Teslim Balogun, Haruna Ilerika (post-humous), Victor Oduah,
Muyiwa Oshode, Emmanuel Okala, Alabi Aisien, Shuaibu Amodu, Emmanuel Okala,
Christian Chukwu, Ismaila Mabo, Sani Mohammed, Moses Kpakor and Peter Rufai.
They were presented with a cash-gift, a medal and a copy of the book- “The
Federation Cup and Nigerian Football” in appreciation of their invaluable
legacy to the game.
A truly commendable gesture by the Lagos State Government,
NFF and the FA and long may it continue. However There is yet work to be done,
but the greatest work remains in the area of sensitising the public as to the
heritage and value of the competition in itself, that is and will continue to
be work in progress.
posted by Seal67 at 12:32 pm
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