 | |
| Full name | Benue Cement Co. Lions Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Ground | J. S. Tarka Stadium Gboko, Nigeria |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Chairman | Aliko Dangote |
| Manager | Andrew Agu |
| League | Nigeria 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 J. S. Tarka Stadium. [1]
BCC Lions was founded in 1982 by the Benue State government, under the Late Mr Aper Aku,[the first civilian governor of the state]. Chuks Aningo was the teams 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 scored by Aham Nwankwo.[ citation needed ] The club went on to win the 1993, 1994, 1997 editions of the Challenge Cup as well. [3]
After winning the Challenge Cup the club won the first edition of the Mandela Cup in 1990.[ citation needed ] During the early 1990s, BCC Lions were one of the dominant teams in the league, peaking with the double in 1994.[ citation needed ]
They were relegated from the Nigerian Premier League in 1998 by two points, and were unable to regain the 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. [4]
Augustine Azuka Okocha, commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He won 73 caps for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 goals, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. He is regarded as one of the greatest football players from Africa.
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