Federation Cup Special: Prime, The Revelation Of 2012 Tournament

Whether in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy or far away Australia, what is common in football is that Cup competitions spring surprises, where relatively unknown teams upset big clubs playing in the top flights.

At the 2012 Federation Cup in Nigeria, the surprise team of the tourney are Prime Football Club, a club founded in 1996 by the Oshogbo Local Government in Osun State, South West, Nigeria.

The club, formed about 16 years ago, Prime FC have risen from being a club that cannot afford to pay the wages of their players in Nigeria’s second tier league, the Nigeria National League, NNL, to become semi-finalists of the 2012 Federation Cup, otherwise known as the National FA Cup or Challenge Cup.

Prime, coached by former national player, Ademola Adesina, attracted the attention in this year’s Federation Cup, following their remarkable giant-killing run, which saw them ousted top Nigeria Premier League clubs such as Wikki Tourists (1998 champions), Enugu Rangers (five-time champions) and Enyimba International (2005 and 2009 champions).

Prime achieved a feat that saw them joined Alyufsalam Rocks, the defunct Leventis United, Katsina United, Wikki Tourists, Niger Tornadoes, Dolphins and FC Arugo, as non-top flight teams that have reached the last four of Nigeria’s most prestigious knock-out competition.

Although, their fairytale campaign ended on Thursday, 23 August, when they lost their semi final tie 3-0 via penalty kicks to defending champions, Heartland Football Club of Owerri, but their performance has since fired up the sleepy town of Oshogbo as the first Local Government-owned team to reach the last four of a major tourney in the country.

The Osogbo-based modest Prime narrowly mised promotion into the Nigeria Premier League, NPL, last season as they failed to finish among the top four clubs in the Nigeria National League.

While reacting to Prime FC’s feat, the Chairman, National League,  Emeka Inyama, says Prime’s qualification for the semi final of this year’s Federation Cup, has confirmed that with adequate funding and good management, the lower league clubs can compete with their counterparts in the Premier League.

Inyama said a lot of people did not reckon with the quality of football played in the National League, but noted that the performance of Prime clearly showed that attention must be focused on the lower leagues.

“Five teams from the National League played in the group stages of the Federation Cup, while three played in the quarter finals.

“I am not surprised that Prime FC were the only club that got to the semi finals because they have quality players and they narrowly missed out of qualification to the Premier League last season.

“They went through a well organised league and the fruit is what everybody is enjoying right now,” Inyama said.

Coach Adesina, who joined Prime in 2009, said: “There are lots of talents in the team and my aim is to discover, tap and nurture them into national materials for the country because I started like them too.

“We are indeed working hard to return to the Premier League since our exit in 2008. For now we have the players, coupled with qualified technical crew, who can take us to the promised land, which is playing in the Premier League next season.”

Former Golden Eaglets star and Julius Berger player, Kazeem Babatunde, who is the only top player in the team, said: “There is no magic to our success in the Federation Cup apart from the fact that we are blessed with great players and a top class coach in Ademola Adesina.  I can promise that in the nearest future, some of theses players would be called into the national teams,”  he told supersport.com in another interview.

Former Secretary-General of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Taiwo Ogunjobi, now the Osun State Football Association Chairman, said Prime’s present feat was achieved through dedication of the players, coaches and management of the team, adding that the Osun State Government, led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola supported the team as well.

—Bamidele Olowosagba