Nigerian Football
Federation Cup: For non-application of seeding, Rivers United battle Enyimba in star match of Round of 64
Two of the 16 Nigeria’ s Premier League clubs in the Round of 64 will be eliminated by the time the Federation Cup gets to the next round.
This is owing to the none application of seeding which would have seen the top flight clubs moving to the next sage which would also sustain interests.
Virtually all top flight football competitions and even other sports employ seeding to sustain great interests.
By the draw for what is the premier national clubs competition in Nigeria, reigning league champions and Nigeria’s only remaining flag-bearers in African club competitions this year, Rivers United FC will be up against two-time CAF Champions League winners Enyimba FC of Aba in what is indisputably the star match of Round of 64 of this year’s Federation Cup competition.
Thus by Round of 32, one of the big names in Nigeria will have to be eliminated. Similarly, the 2020/21 Nigerian champions, Akwa United are pitched against Wikki Tourists of Bauchi in another match-up that will see the depletion of premier league sides in the Federation Cup.
That is the highlight of the draw held inside the NFF Secretariat on Wednesday. For years, the oldest national competition in the country has lost glamour as big teams have had to clash at the early round of the competition while the lower rated teams revelled and often navigate to the finals and often pick tickets to represent the country at the second-tier continental clubs’ competition – the CAF Confederation Cup.
The women’s Round of 32 fixtures were also drawn on Wednesday, with Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt up against Golden Sun of Bayelsa State and Naija Ratels of FCT to play Adamawa Queens
All Round of 64 matches in the men’s competition and Round of 32 matches in the women’s competition will hold on Wednesday, 26 April.
The Round of 32 matches in the men’s competition have been scheduled for Wednesday, 3 May, with the Round of 16 on Wednesday, 10 May. Quarter final matches are to take place on Wednesday, 17 May.
The semi-finals of both competitions will come up on Wednesday, 24 May with the men’s and women’s grand finale on Saturday, 27 May.
ALL THE ROUND OF 64 FIXTURES (MEN)
- Heartland FC (Imo) vs Jedo FC (Sokoto)
- Bayelsa United (Bayelsa) Vs Essien Ayi FC (Cross River)
- Ahudiya FC (Abia) Vs Jigawa Golden Stars (Jigawa)
- ABS FC (Kwara) Vs Bendel Insurance FC (Edo)
- Standard FC (Kaduna) Vs Ekiti United (Ekiti)
- FC Basira (Nasarawa) Vs Sunshine Stars (Ondo)
- EFCC FC (FCT) Vs Katukan Tsafe FC (Zamfara)
- Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) Vs Akwa United FC (Akwa Ibom)
- Warri Wolves (Delta) Vs Beyond Limit FC (Ogun)
- 3SC (Oyo) Vs Adamimogo FC (Ondo)
- Mighty Jets (Plateau) Vs Niger Tornadoes Feeders (Niger)
- Malumfashi FC (Katsina) Vs Gombe United (Gombe)
- Osun United (Osun) Vs Katsina United (Katsina)
- Bendel Insurance Feeders (Edo) Vs Maikunkele FC (Niger)
- Cynosure FC (Ebonyi) Vs Kano Pillars Jnr (Kano)
- Lobi Stars (Benue) Vs FC One Rocket (Akwa Ibom)
- Jama United (Zamfara) Vs Plateau United (Plateau)
- Rivers United (Rivers) Vs Enyimba FC (Abia)
- Ingas FC (Enugu) Vs Novia FC (Adamawa)
- El-Kanemi Warriors (Borno) Vs De Cardinal FC (Rivers)
- Nasarawa United (Nasarawa) Vs Kebbi United (Kebbi)
- DMD FC (Borno) Vs ABJ FC (Bauchi)
- Ikorodu City (Lagos) Vs Crusader FC (Bayelsa)
- Gateway United (Ogun) Vs Kwara United (Kwara)
- FC Ebedei (Ekiti) Vs Hope of Glory FC (Cross River)
- Yobe Desert Stars (Yobe) Vs Igbajo FC (Osun)
- Adamawa United (Adamawa) Vs Rangers Int’l (Enugu)
- Ilaji FC (Oyo) Vs Kano Pillars (Kano)
- Green Berets FC (Kaduna) Vs FR Ebunuja (Imo)
- Ozalla FC (Anambra) Vs Doma United (Gombe)
- Kogi United Feeders (Kogi) Vs Edel FC (Anambra)
- Mailantarki FC (FCT) Vs kogi United (Kogi)
ALL THE ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES (WOMEN)
- Bayelsa Queens (Bayelsa) Vs Maureen Mmadu KFC (Anambra)
- Akwa Angels (Akwa Ibom) Vs Dannaz Ladies (Lagos)
- Owo Itan FC (Akwa Ibom) Vs Fortress FC (Edo)
- Honey Badgers (Benue) Vs Kada FC (Kaduna)
- Heartland Queens (Imo) Vs Confluence Queens (Kogi)
- Lakeside FC (Ogun) Vs Kwara Ladies (Kwara)
- Sunshine Queens (Ondo) Vs Edo Queens (Edo)
- Maureen Mmadu KFC (Abia) Vs Green Foot (Enugu)
- FC Robo (Lagos) Vs Immaculate Queens (Enugu)
- First Mah FC (Imo) Vs Royal Queens (Delta)
- Nasarawa Amazons (Nasarawa) Vs Gallant FC (Kaduna)
- Naija Ratels (FCT) Vs Adamawa Queens (Adamawa)
- Rivers Angels (Rivers) Vs Golden Sun FC (Bayelsa)
- Osun Babes (Osun) Vs Awka Angels (Anambra)
- Ekiti Queens (Ekiti) Vs Moje Queens (Kwara)
- Paul E. FC (FCT) Vs Delta Queens (Delta)
Nigerian champions, Enugu Rangers have been beaten 4-3 by visiting Kano Pillars in the Match Day 7 of the Nigeria Premier Football League.
The visitors went into the lead in 15th minute when Rabiu Ali converted a penalty kick. They doubled the lead in the 28th minute through Zulkifilu Rabiu before Rabiu Ali extended the lead to 3-0 in the 37th minute after converting another penalty kick.
The game turned into a nightmare for Rangers as Ahmed Musa made it 4-0 in the first minute of the added time.
Rangers began a fight back in the opening minutes of the second half as Isaac Saviour pulled a goal back in the 47th minute. Twelve minute later he scored a second goal to reduce the tally to 4-2. Emmanuel Silas Nenrot made the score line a more respectable for Rangers when he scored a third goal in the added time.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON6 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON1 week ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON7 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
AFCON2 days ago
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!