Yesterday the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) took the back seat as the State Football Association (FA) Cup final matches took the centre stage. So, as you read this, most states would have concluded the oldest club competition in Nigeria. However, some states have their final matches slated for today, thereby making it a weekend of FA Cup matches. Surely, many may wonder when exactly the competition started at the state level that we are already having final matches but we shall get to that shortly.
It is imperative to use this moment to critically examine the bastardisation of the once glamorous competition by the custodians of the game in the country. As we all are aware, the competition which debuted in Nigeria in 1945 was famous for epic matches that usually left football fans with long lasting memories. In the hey-days of famous clubs like Enugu Rangers, IICC Shooting Stars, Mighty Jets, Bendel Insurance, Abiola Babes, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, BCC Lions, Ranchers Bees, Julius Berger, Stationery Stores, Julius Berger, Dolphins and El-kanemi Warriors, the competition which transited from Governors Cup to Challenge Cup and later FA Cup was a big deal. Every football fan looked forward to the next edition with great expectation.
Unfortunately, what is now called the Federation Cup has continued to lose its aura and relevance as those entrusted with the running of football in the country have deliberately allowed it to become an ordinary thing. Although the decay didn’t start under him, it is on record that the Federation Cup degenerated seriously when Amaju Pinnick took the reins as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Even as the then NFF president claimed he had landed a mega deal for the competition with an oil company Aiteo Group, there was nothing to show for it. Instead, it was during the well-advertised sponsorship deal that what is now known as ‘audio prizes’ started to rear its ugly head.
It is on record that before each national final, clubs were promised millions of Naira as cash prizes for winners and runners-up. Unfortunately, past winners of the competition are still waiting for their cash prizes. For instance, Kano Pillars who won the trophy in 2019 when they defeated Niger Tornadoes on penalties in Kaduna had to write several letters to the NFF begging to be paid their money. It is not certain if Kano Pillars have received the prize money same with Enugu Rangers, Bayelsa United and lately Bendel Insurance.
So, as the NFF continued to default in the payment of cash prizes, the competition steadily declined in organisation and participation. At the moment, it is not compulsory for states to properly organise the FA Cup. Now what most of the State FAs do is to hand pick the two finalists. For instance in Benue State, the biggest club, Lobi Stars were picked to play against NLO One side, Flight FC of Gboko while in Gombe, the two NPFL clubs, Doma United and Gombe United automatically ‘qualified’ for the final. But it must be acknowledged that some State FAs managed to organise the competition. Therefore, it is necessary to commend states like Ogun, Imo, Katsina and Abia where efforts were made to organise the FA Cup properly.
Considering the fact that in Ogun State, Remo Stars Academy called Beyond Limits knocked the senior team out of the competition, the bad habit of hand picking finalists at the state level is something that must be stopped by the NFF because it is hindering the growth of the sport. It is on record that when the competition was organised properly, it offered the smaller teams the opportunity to compete against their more illustrious opponents. Sometimes the underdogs eliminated the bigger teams to earn for themselves the name of giant killers. In 1999, a small club in Imo State called Arugo FC came to the limelight because of their exploits in the FA Cup. From nowhere, the amateur club took out formidable opponents before they were cut to size at the semifinals by their neighbours Iwuanywanwu Nationale. Some of us have not forgotten the outstanding skills of goalkeeper Chijioke Ejiogu who instantly earned for himself the nick-name ‘Arugo monkey’. It is, therefore, unfortunate that today, many grassroots clubs are being denied the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Of course, when it came to my knowledge that Lobi Stars and Flight FC were going to contest the final of the FA Cup in Benue State, I tried to find out when the competition kicked off. It was then I discovered that it was the same old practice of just picking the two finalists. The reason given for the condemnable act was that other clubs in the state didn’t register for the competition. I was told some had complained that they didn’t have the money to pay for registration while some felt it would amount to waste of money since it was a must for Lobi Stars to win. One is tempted to believe that the reasons given for the apathy towards the competition in Benue State may be the same in other states.
If some of the reasons for the increasing apathy towards the FA Cup are anything to go by, it is necessary to appeal to the NFF to pay more attention to the competition by funding it even at the state level. Just as FIFA gives grants to its affiliates for football development, the NFF too should consider it necessary to release part of such grants to the FAs for the purpose of projects like the FA Cup. Once the state FAs are empowered financially, they should be able to subsidise the registration fee for the smaller clubs that are willing to participate. Moreover, if the FAs can pay attractive cash prizes, most of the grassroots clubs will be encouraged to source for money to take part in the competition. However, if the beginners know that even if they win, there will be nothing to take home, they will naturally be nonchalant about the FA Cup.
In the same vein, the NFF must ensure winners at the national level go home with their cash prizes as soon as the competition is concluded. It is a shame that as big as the Federation Cup is, one can’t confidently say it has a credible sponsor. Till now, nobody knows exactly what transpired between the then NFF and Aiteo that winners of the Cup weren’t paid their cash prizes. Sometime ago, the present NFF announced a company called Tingo as the new sponsor of the Federation Cup but only the NFF knows what is happening.
And apart from threatening State FAs with hefty fines, the NFF should insist on proper organisation of the competition from the local, state and national level. Football development must start at the grassroots and the Federation Cup offers the opportunity for this objective to be realised. This habit of insisting that deadlines set for the competition must be met without any concern for how properly it was organised is totally unacceptable. State FAs must be monitored closely to ensure that they do not skip any stage of the competition.
Well, this year’s FA Cup has maintained the old tradition but the NFF must wake up to its responsibility by ensuring that the Federation Cup regains its lost glory. Everything humanly possible should be done by the federation to get sponsors to resurrect the oldest football competition in the country.
