// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Nigeria Federation Cup say to the ball? "You're kicked out.
| Founded | 1942 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 74 |
| Qualifier for | Nigeria Super Cup CAF Confederation Cup |
| Current champions | El-Kanemi Warriors (4th title) |
| Most championships | Shooting Stars FC (8 titles) |
 2026 Nigeria Federation Cup | |
The Nigeria Federation Cup is the main football single-elimination tournament in Nigeria usually contested by 74 teams, representing the 36 states and the FCT of Nigeria. It is the Nigerian domestic cup and the Nigerian equivalent of the FA Cup, Emperor's Cup, Copa do Brasil, Coupe de France, and Hrvatski nogometni kup, among others. The tournament was created in 1945 as the "Governor's Cup",[1] succeeding the War Memorial Challenge Cup that had been limited to teams from Lagos.
The tournament, as the Governor's Cup, was initially dominated by Lagosian teams, later it was known as the Nigeria FA Cup from (1954–1959), Nigeria Challenge Cup (1960–1998), Coca-Cola FA Cup (1999–2008) and Nigeria Federation Cup (2009–2016). Between 2017 and 2022, the competition was sponsored by the AITEO group and known as the AITEO Cup including the women's tournament.[2]
On 8 August 2021, Bayelsa became the first state to have two clubs win the FA cup in the men's and women's editions in the same year.[3] Shooting Stars are the most successful club, having won the competition eight times, followed by the defunct Lagos Railways with 7 titles and Enugu Rangers with six titles.
El-Kanemi Warriors are the current champions, with the 2026 tournament victory giving them their fourth Nigeria FA Cup title.
Format
[edit]The competition is a single elimination knockout tournament featuring 74 teams from the 36 states and 1 from the FCT in Nigeria. All clubs qualify via their states cup championships, the winners and runners-up of each state cup championship qualifies for the tournament regardless of their position at the Nigerian football league system. A 'Rookie' play-off will be held for the 20 lowest ranked clubs, the 10 winners then joins the remaining 54 at the first round. All matches are held at neutral venues.
The winner qualifies automatically for the next season's CAF Confederation Cup or the runners-up if the winner had already qualified for a CAF club competition based on league's position.
Finals
[edit]- ↑ The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Performance by club (not including War Memorial Cup)
[edit]| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting Stars (Ibadan) [includes Ibadan Lions and WNDC] | 8 | 2 | 1959, 1961, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1979, 1995 |
| Lagos Railways (Lagos) | 7 | 1 | 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1964 |
| Enugu Rangers (Enugu) | 6 | 7 | 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1983, 2018 |
| Bendel Insurance (Benin City) | 4 | 2 | 1972, 1978, 1980, 2021 |
| Stationery Stores (Lagos) | 4 | 2 | 1967, 1968, 1982, 1990 |
| Enyimba (Aba) | 4 | 2 | 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014 |
| BCC Lions (Gboko) | 4 | 1 | 1989, 1993, 1994, 1997 |
| El-Kanemi Warriors (Maiduguri) | 4 | 1 | 1991, 1992, 2024, 2026 |
| Dolphins FC (Port-Harcourt) [formerly known as Eagle Cement] | 4 | 1 | 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
| Port Harcourt FC (Port Harcourt) | 3 | 3 | 1955, 1958, 1963 |
| Iwuanyanwu Nationale/Heartland (Owerri) | 3 | 2 | 1988, 2011, 2012 |
| Lagos ECN (Lagos) (later renamed NEPA) | 3 | – | 1960, 1965, 1970 |
| Kano Pillars (Kano) | 2 | 3 | 1953, 2019 |
| Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | 2 | 2 | 1985, 1987 |
| Julius Berger (Lagos) | 2 | 1 | 1996, 2002 |
| Akwa United (Uyo) | 2 | – | 2015, 2017 |
| Leventis United (Ibadan) | 2 | – | 1984, 1986 |
| Marine (Lagos) | 2 | – | 1945, 1947 |
| Lobi Stars (Makurdi) | 1 | 3 | 2003 |
| Niger Tornadoes (Minna) | 1 | 3 | 2000 |
| Plateau United (Jos) | 1 | 3 | 1999 |
| Lagos UAC (Lagos) | 1 | 1 | 1950 |
| Police (Lagos) | 1 | 1 | 1962 |
| St Patrick's College (Calabar) | 1 | – | 1954 |
| Ifeanyi Ubah (Nnewi) | 1 | – | 2016 |
| Kaduna United (Kaduna) | 1 | – | 2010 |
| Lagos PAN Bank (Lagos) | 1 | – | 1952 |
| Ocean Boys (Brass) | 1 | – | 2008 |
| Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) | 1 | – | 1998 |
| Bayelsa United (Yenagoa) | 1 | – | 2021 |
| Kwara United (Ilorin) | 1 | – | 2025 |
| Mighty Jets [Jos Plateau Highlanders] (Jos) | – | 10 | – |
| Warri (Warri) | – | 5 | – |
| Katsina United (Katsina) | – | 3 | – |
| Sharks FC (Port Harcourt) | – | 3 | – |
| Nasarawa United (Nasarawa) | – | 2 | – |
| Ranchers Bees [DIC Bees] (Kaduna) | – | 2 | – |
| Corinthians (Lagos) | – | 1 | – |
| Federal United (Abuja) | – | 1 | – |
| Flash Flamingoes (Uromi) | – | 1 | – |
| Lagos Dynamos (Lagos) | – | 1 | – |
| Racca Rovers (Kano) | – | 1 | – |
| Alyufasalam Rocks (Ilorin) | – | 1 | – |
| Gombe United (Gombe) | – | 1 | – |
| Yobe Desert Stars (Damaturu) | – | 1 | – |
| Warri Wolves (Warri) | – | 1 | – |
| Abia Warriors (Umuahia) | – | 1 | – |
| Abakaliki (Abakaliki) | – | 1 | – |
| Ikorodu City (Lagos) | – | 1 |
References
[edit]- ↑ "The Federation Cup... 67 years Of Nigerian History, Through Football". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ↑ "Nigerian FA Cup signs 5 year sponsorship deal with Aiteo group". TheCable. 28 June 2017.
- ↑ "Bayelsa teams emerge double 2021 Aiteo cup champions". Premium Times. 8 August 2021.
- ↑ Eludini, Tunde (6 November 2016). "FC Ifeanyi Ubah emerge 2016 Federation Cup Champions". Premium Times. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ↑ "AITEO Cup: Akwa United beat Tornadoes to win competition – Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ↑ "Enugu Rangers break 35-year Aiteo Cup jinx". ESPN.com.
External links
[edit]- RSSSF competition history
- Nigerian Football Online Archived 2009-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Super Eagles Nation
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