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BCC Lions F.C.

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BCC Lions FC
Full nameBenue Cement Co. Lions Football Club
Founded1982; 42 years ago (1982)
GroundJ. S. Tarka Stadium
Gboko, Nigeria
Capacity15,000
ChairmanAliko Dangote
ManagerAndrew Agu
LeagueNigeria Amateur League

BCC Lions Football Club (Benue Cement Company Lions Football Club) is a Nigerian football team based in Gboko, Benue State, that competes in the Nigeria Amateur League, and plays its home games at the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka Stadium.[1]

History

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BCC Lions was founded in 1982 by the Benue State government, under Aper Aku, the first civilian governor of the state. Chuks Aningo was the team's first coach. In later years, Aningo would serve as the team's manager. At the time, he was employed by Benue Cement Company.[2]

BCC Lions was the first team in Northern Nigeria to win the Nigeria Challenge Cup (now known as the Nigeria FA Cup) in 1989. The game was played at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, and the only goal of the match was scored by Aham Nwankwo.[3][4] The club went on to win the 1993, 1994, 1997 editions of the Challenge Cup as well.[5]

After winning the Challenge Cup, the next year the club won the Mandela Cup as well in 1990.[6] During the early 1990s, BCC Lions were one of the dominant teams in the league, peaking with the double in 1994.[7]

They were relegated from the Nigerian Premier League in 1998 by two points, and were unable to regain their former glory. After spending six years in the lower division, they slowly lost their fan base and financial support. Despite a 2.5 million naira boost from Benue State governor George Akume in 2002 and another million from Guilder Brewing two years later, the team was disbanded, not even showing up for their 2004 FA Cup first round game against Shooting Stars F.C. An attempt to resurrect the team began in November 2007. Dangote, also chairman of the BCC board, announced 110 million naira for the team to participate in the 2008/09 season. They were relegated after finishing 13th.[8]

Achievements

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1994
1989, 1993, 1994, 1997
1990

Performance in CAF competitions

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1995 – Second Round
1990 – Champion
1991 – Finalist
1994 – Quarter-Finals
1998 – First Round

References

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  1. ^ "BBC Lions Football Club Stadium". bcclions.sitesng.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  2. ^ "BBC Lions Football Club History". bcclions.sitesng.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  3. ^ Lost glory of Nigeria’s oldest football competition Archived June 2, 2024, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ REVEALED: The autobiography Amodu will NEVER publish Archived June 2, 2024, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "Bolaji Douglas: I will forever treasure my days in BCC Lions FC". Daily Trust. 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  6. ^ Cup Winners' Cup 1990.The African Cup Winners' Cup was a tournament for the cup winners of CAF nations. The original trophy, the Abdelaziz Mostafa Cup, was permanently awarded to Al-Ahly after their third consecutive win in 1986. In 1987, a new trophy sponsored by CAF was introduced and named the Nelson Mandela Cup. The 2003 tournament was the last; following a European example, the Cup Winners' Cup and CAF Cup were merged into one tournament, the Confederations Cup.
  7. ^ Nigeria 1994
  8. ^ "Save BCC Lions Football Club of Gboko The Nation Newspaper". 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
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