Nigerian Football

Flashback as Shooting Stars -Bendel Insurance match leaves 24 dead in Nigeria’s worst stadium tragedy

Published

2 years ago

August 13, 2023

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
This Sunday, August 13, 2023 marks the 44^th anniversary of what is easily the biggest football tragedy to have ever befallen Nigeria.
Yet it is hardly recalled as the death of Samuel Okwaraji 10 years later eclipsed the saddest scene that Nigeria ever witnessed in a sports arena.
On the night of August 13, 1979, television viewers got more than they expected. Results and analyses of the presidential election held two days earlier were just trickling in.
It was on this night that legal luminary, Chief Richard Akinjide propounded his infamous twelve two third theory that later became the clincher for Alhaji Shehu Shagari to become Nigeria’s first civilian president in a hotly contested election with Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
But the sports-inclined were awaiting the outcome of the epic encounter between IICC Shooting Stars and Bendel Insurance in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, the exciting national football cup competition that has since gone through series of name change and now called Aiteo Cup.
Both Shooting Stars and Bendel Insurance had met the previous year at the same stage and Bendel were not just surprise winners of the match, but also of the Challenge Cup.
Moreover, both were hot contenders for the National League title that Bendel had just won in 1979, great thanks to the collaboration with Water Corporation FC, the Ibadan city rivals of IICC Shooting Stars.
Within the regulation time, the Shooting Stars had become victorious, winning 2-1. But there was no time for the expected celebration.
Their moment of joy had turned to become national grief. Sports Village Square recalls that 24 fans had died in a stampede that ensued minutes after the match when the floodlights were suddenly switched off.
The tightly packed crowd made frantic and hurried rush towards the 72 exit points of the main bowl where iron gates had just been mounted.
But unknown to the rushing crowd, the exit points at the northern end of the stadium, the gates A and B were still locked. Early arrivals to the locked gates were trapped to the barrier in the ensuing stampede.
The gates collapsed under the weight of the surging crowd and the early arrivals were trampled upon.
The unlucky fans were pressed upon the iron gates, which later fell under the weight of the surging crowd.
Some of them died of suffocation. Worse still, the National Sports Commission (NSC) medical centre was not opened.
So, there was no immediate medical attention. Ambulances at the sports complex could not also function for lack of personnel. About 50 others in convulsive conditions were rushed to hospitals.
By the time calm was restored, 24 fans were confirmed dead. Almost 30 others were seriously wounded.
The death toll was relayed in the late news announcement on television where viewers were possibly just awaiting electoral results and that of the classic Bendel Insurance /IICC Shooting Stars clash.
Two medical personnel, Dr. Alaba Efunkoya, a former chairman of Nigeria Table Tennis Association and Commander Sojinrin, a naval doctor who had come to watch the match and who was to become chairman of National Sports Commission some years later, assisted in offering first aid to some of the victims.

Nigerian Football

Crest Academy resumes session

Published

5 hours ago

April 4, 2025

Kunle Solaja

The Surulere Centre of Crest Football Academy will resume its training of aspiring young footballers on Saturday. According to the proprietor, Godwin Dudu-Orume, the training will be held at Iponri Secondary School, behind the Leadway Assurance office in Iponri, Lagos.

The session begins a 7.30 am with the physical registration of participants on site.

Physical registration will be done on-site. This also affects those who registered online as they are expected to produce proof of payment.

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Nigerian Football

NFF congratulates Musa Kida on appointment as Chairman, NNPCL

Published

2 days ago

April 2, 2025

Kunle Solaja

The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engineer Ahmadu Musa Kida on his appointment as the non-executive Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

In a letter signed by the NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, the football-governing body said it was not surprised about Kida’s appointment by the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, given Kida’s proven ability, capacity, demonstrated competence and sagacity in the nation’s oil sector over the decades.

“Your appointment is another testament that a goldfish has no hiding place. Your legacies as the most-impactful President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) ever, as a true leader of the oil sector in Nigeria and internationally, and as an administrator of the highest repute, have eventually found you out as deserving of a higher national assignment, and we heartily rejoice with you.

“The NFF has absolutely no doubt in your capacity to lead the new board to a level of enhanced operational efficiency, restoration of investor confidence, local content-boosting, remarkable economic growth and the advancement of gas commercialisation and diversification, as envisioned by Mr. President,” Sanusi wrote.

The NFF commended Mr. President for the appointment while praising Kida’s track record as an adroit manager of men and resources, a lover of excellence and an individual whose endless innovation and gravitas have seen to the remarkable growth of all establishments he has journeyed through on his way to the top.

Kida, a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, heads the newly constituted 11-member NNPCL board with Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer.

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Nigerian Football

NPFL, FRCN Sign MoU to boost Nigerian football Coverage

Published

1 week ago

March 28, 2025

Kunle Solaja

From L-R: Executive Director of GTI Group, Nelson Ine; NPFL Chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye and Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Dr. Mohammed Bulama at the signing ceremony of the MoU between NPFL and FRCN on radio commentaries on Thursday, March 27, 2025.

A deal to broadcast the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) on national radio was penned Thursday with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two organisations in Abuja.

It is a move that stakeholders believe will enhance the coverage and promotion of domestic football across the country.

The agreement will see FRCN provide live match commentary, analysis, and exclusive interviews with players, coaches, and league officials.

Speaking at the event, NPFL Chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye, described the partnership as another landmark partnership for league football in the country.

He said that the collaboration is expected to boost the league’s popularity, attract sponsorships, and enhance fan engagement, ultimately contributing to the growth of professional football in Nigeria.

Research shows that radio has the highest reach in the country and Elegbeleye insists that working with FRCN will bring the NPFL closer to millions of football fans, especially those in rural areas who rely on radio for sports updates.

He said: “Television is what we call direct-to-home. You have to be home to watch television. But with radio, you can be anywhere, on your farmland, in your office, or on the road, and still follow live updates. And know what is going on everywhere in the country and the rest of the world.

“Our football ecosystem needs this relationship with the Federal Radio Corporation to ensure the entire country listens to our athletes on match days. This will promote the league and boost Nigeria’s football industry.”

He recalled how radio commentary played a key role in the past, helping fans familiarize themselves with local players and clubs.

“Back in the day, people knew our players by name because of live commentary. When you don’t run commentaries, there’s no way fans can recognize footballers. But when a player’s name is mentioned frequently, he becomes well-known.

“This is crucial for marketing our players, clubs, and the league itself, which is indeed a national asset. I’m proud to say we have achieved a lot in a short time. The Nigerian league is now rated higher than before, and more local players are being included in the national team.”

In his remarks, the Director-General of FRCN, Mohammed Bulama, reaffirmed the corporation’s dedication to reviving football enthusiasm in Nigeria.

Bulama said: “The history of sports in Nigeria has shown sports as a unifying factor and a catalyst for the overall development of Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Indeed, the history of sports development in Nigeria, as well as the promotion of national unity cannot be complete without the mention of Radio Nigeria and its iconic sports commentators over the years, who worked hard to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians, immortalized our sporting icons, and put Nigerian sports on the global stage.”

He recalled how radio commentaries boosted stadium attendance and newspaper sales from the 1960s to the 1980s, with many fans even bringing radio sets to the stadium to listen to live analysis.

He added, “Nigerians would often put on their television only for visuals while muting it to listen to commentaries on the radio. This was a period when Radio Nigeria dominated the sports commentary scene, driving national football enthusiasm to unparalleled heights”.

Bulama lamented that the decline in football commentary on radio contributed to the drop in local football’s popularity, as many fans turned their attention to foreign leagues like the English Premier League.

“It is to arrest this decline, and put Nigerian football back on an upward trajectory, that the NPFL and the FRCN are getting back into this strategic partnership, aimed at bringing radio football commentary back.”

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