The Federation Cup- 67 years of Nigerian History, through the prism of Footbal

From an article I wrote last year and first published by the Guardian - October 2012.

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 81^st and 82^nd 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.