Nigerian Football

32 Teams, 19 Countries Jostle at CAF Inter-Clubs Draw

Published

8 years ago

April 24, 2017

And now there are 16! The initial field of 52 clubs from 40 countries and another 16 CAF Champions League drop-outs have been narrowed to a manageable number for a league-styled competition for the 2017 Confederation Cup. The CAF Champions League is similarly narrowed.

According to CAF website, ahead of the draw of the group phase of the CAF Champions League 2017 and CAF Confederation Cup on Wednesday, in Cairo, Egypt, the qualified clubs are drawn from 19 countries.

Tunisia leads the pack with the maximum representation in the two competitions, two each and four in all.

Since 1997, Tunisian clubs have won seven continental club championships (two CAF Champions League and five CAF Confederation Cup), and have been a constant feature at this stage.

Their representatives are Esperance and Etoile du Sahel for the CAF Champions League, and the pair of Club Africain and CS Sfaxien in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Despite security concerns compelling clubs to play behind closed doors since 2011, Egyptian clubs continue to be a force to reckon with.

Egypt has three clubs, after El Masry failed in their bid to become the fourth. Since the launch of the group phase in 1997, Egypt has seven CAF Champions League title, six for Al Ahly and one for rivals, Zamalek.

Ahly also won the CAF Confederation Cup in 2014. Alexandria-based Smouha complete the Egyptian trio.

Also with three clubs each is South Africa, with African champions, Mamelodi Sundowns looking set to defend their title in the CAF Champions League. Platinum Stars and SuperSport United are the others and will play in the second-tier continental club championship.

Sudan equally has three clubs with debutants and rising force Hilal Obeid, the surprise packets in the CAF Confederation Cup. Traditional giants, El Merreikh and El Hilal are in the CAF Champions League.

Algeria, DR Congo, Morocco and Zambia have a club each in the two competitions.

One-club countries include Swaziland, who for the time has representation at the mini-league stage of a major continental championship in Mbabane Swallows in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Other countries represented are Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Nigerian Football

Remo Stars’ victory parade holds on Friday

Published

12 hours ago

May 13, 2025

Kunle Solaja

Even as another celebration appears in the offing, Remo Stars have announced a victory parade on Friday.

Their women’s counterparts, Remo Stars Ladies, are already having a good head start in the NWFL Super 6 League and could also win it.

That makes a double for Remo Stars, a feat never achieved by any other club in Nigeria.

With that possibility, the victorious Remo Stars will flag off a parade of stars in Ikenne as the club expresses appreciation to their supporters and the media for the “awesome coverage of our team in the 2024/25 season.

“We have won games, drawn some, and lost others, but your support has been unwavering”, the club remarked in a public statement issued on Tuesday.

“A massive celebration is on the horizon as we can confirm plans for a champions parade through key towns in Remo land after clinching a historic league title – the club’s first top-flight championship.

“The parade will take place on Friday, May 16, 2025, beginning at 9 AM, as thousands of fans will line the route to celebrate this landmark achievement in Nigerian football.”

The victory route is designed to touch the heart of Remo communities, starting from Our Saviour’s Anglican Church in Aiyepe junction, which is just a stone’s throw from the Remo Stars Stadium.

The carnival proceeds towards Sagamu, passing by the Gateway International Stadium, which used to be the home ground of Remo Stars, some years ago.

From there, the victory parade extends to Isale Oko and then by the frontage of the palace of the paramount ruler of Remo, the Akarigbo Palace.

The procession goes through Ita Oba to Ijoku Road to Remo Secondary School, then to the Sagamu-Iperu Road before veering into the Iperu-Ilishan Road passing the connecting road of the Gateway Airport to the Ilishan Roundabout before crossing the Sagamu-Benin Expressway for the homeward journey to Ikenne, the home of champions and legends.

With the procession through the Obafemi Awolowo Avenue, it ends at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne.

Fans are strongly encouraged to plan, arrive early, and line the entire route to create an unforgettable atmosphere for the players, technical team, and supporters. The event promises to be a festival of Remo pride, unity, and sporting excellence.

The club announced that safety will be assured as it has engaged the local security agencies, who will be on the ground to maintain a peaceful and celebratory environment.

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Nigerian Football

Burial date for Christian Chukwu announced

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2025

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s former football captain and coach, Christian Chukwu, will be buried on August 22.
According to Segun Odegbami, a teammate in the national team in the 1980s, the deceased’s family announced the date.
He also revealed in his LinkedIn post that arrangements for a national befitting burial have already begun.
Plans are underway for an event to take place in Lagos, where he played most of his national team football, to enable his fans and friends who may not be able to travel to Enugu for the funeral to celebrate the legendary Nigerian football hero.

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Nigerian Football

Remo Stars’ lifting of the NPFL trophy marks the 35th anniversary of professional football in Nigeria

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2025

Kunle Solaja

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Remo Stars’ coronation as Nigeria’s new football kings perhaps marks the 35th anniversary of the introduction of professional football in Nigeria.

It was on this day, 12 May 1990, at the now Mobolaji Johnson Arena Stadium that the professional league symbolically kicked off and former Super Eagles’ rear guard, Ben Iroha, entered the record books as the first scorer when the then Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland) beat Stationery Stores 2-1.

Without much fanfare, such that heralded the first North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1969 and the J-League of Japan in 1993, a professional league kicked off in Nigeria.

The pioneers were the now-defunct Lagos ACB, BCC Lions, Bendel Insurance, Bendel United (now defunct) and Enyimba.

Others were Highlanders of Jos, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, JIB, Kano Pillars, Obanta United (later VIP), Ranchers, Enugu Rangers and Stationery Stores.

An attempt to have one of the pioneer clubs pitch against the Crystal Palace of England, as a symbolic kick-off of the professional league, failed.

After years of prolonged debates, the professional league finally kicked off with a Super Stores versus Iwuanyanwu Nationale opener at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos.

The Owerri-based Iwuanyanwu, now renamed Heartland, dictated the pace of the away tie, winning 2-1. They kept their form and the pace until the season ended, winning the inaugural championship.

Remo Stars on Sunday became the 19th club to win the laurel. But the most successful club in the 35-year history of professional football in Nigeria is Enyimba, record nine-time winners.

Across ages, Enyimba have been the most successful, winning the professional league nine times. They are followed by the crowd-pulling Kano Pillars, who won four times.

Shooting Stars, Heartland and Lobi Stars have each won twice. In 2012, the Nigeria Professional League had its best ranking as the topmost in Africa and the 24^th in the world.

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