Lobi Stars F.C.

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Lobi Stars F.C. Lobi Stars logo.png
Lobi Stars F.C.
Full nameLobi Stars Football Club
Nickname(s)Alia Boys
Founded1981 by late Bishop A.A. Usuh
Ground Aper Aku Stadium
Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
Capacity8,000
ChairmanDr Philip Nongu
Manager Mika Lönnström
League Nigeria Premier Football League
2023–24 Nigeria Premier Football League, 6th of 20

Lobi Stars Football Club (formerly known as Mosquito football club, Lobi Bank, BBL Hawks, and Hawks) is a Nigerian professional soccer club based in Makurdi, Benue. The club competes in the Nigerian Professional Football League. The Stars' home is the 8,000-seater Aper Aku Stadium. [1]

Contents

History

Founded as Hawks of Makurdi in 1981 by the Benue State sports council, the club was renamed Benue Breweries Limited (BBL) Hawks Football Club, when the state-owned Breweries acquired the club in 1985. There was another change again when the state-owned Lobi Bank acquired the club in 1990 and named it Lobi Bank Football Club. [2]

In 1999, the Nigeria Football League was played in a new format which saw the top four teams squaring up in a knockout Super League at the National Stadium, Surulere. Lobi Stars won the maiden edition of the Nigerian Super League under coach Godwin Koko Uwua's management. Lobi Stars won its first and only FA Cup title in 2003 after beating Sharks FC of Port-Harcourt. [3]

In 2005 they reached the finals of the domestic FA Cup where they lost to Enyimba. [4]

They finished the 2008–09 season with 13 wins, 10 draws and 15 losses after winning a game on appeal against Enugu Rangers, avoiding the drop by one point. [5]

In August 2009, the Benue State government announced the club will be leased to private ownership, ending direct support from the State, but that never materialised. [5] Lobi finished 3rd in Glo premier league in 2012. They also reached the Federation Cup final that season but lost to Heartland F.C. of Owerri. [6]

Honours

Performance in CAF competitions

2000 – Group stage
2018–19 – Group stage
2004 – Second round
2006 – Second round
2012 – First round
2010 – First round

Current squad

As of 8 February 2024 [7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Daniel Atsaka
2 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA John Lazarus
31 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Solomon Kwambe
6 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Jimmy Iteji
10 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Stanley Oganbor
8 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Kumaga Suur
9 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Barnabas Imenger
11 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Samuel Tiza Iorwuese
12 GK Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Emmanuel Daniel
13 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Orji Kalu Okagbue
14 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Dabani Godwin Alao
16 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Waheed Adebayo
17 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Moses Tsehuan
No.Pos.NationPlayer
20 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Ajibola Adeleke
19CFFlag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Ossy Martins
21 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Christian Madu
25 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Nnamdi Frank
33 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Ifeanyi Assurance
22 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Onah Peter
27 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Monday Akile
28 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Ahmadu Liman
5 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Yem Reubem
30 GK Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Akor Itodo
33 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Agbanyi Vershima
34CBFlag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Arinze Ogbonna
37 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Olorintoba Segun
35 FW Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Itim Paul


Coaching staff

As of 8 November 2024

NameRole
Flag of Finland.svg Mika Lönnström Head coach
Flag of Nigeria.svg Tar AkomboAssistant coach
Flag of Nigeria.svg Save OkohGoalkeeping coach
Flag of Nigeria.svg Benjamin Bemgba JikiCoach
Flag of Nigeria.svg Daniel Amokachi Technical advisor

Former managers

Notable players

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References

  1. ↑ "Lobi Stars Football Club History". sitesng.com. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  2. ↑ "Dominic Iorfa Online : About Lobi Stars". Dominic Iorfa Online. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  3. ↑ Omuya, Kevin (2022-03-19). "Lobi Stars players, owner, stadium, coach, trophies, world rankings". SportsBrief - Sport news. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  4. ↑ "Nigeria: Enyimba Break Fa Cup Jinx".
  5. 1 2 Adigun, Taye Hassan. "Lobi Stars". Felele247 Football. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  6. ↑ KickOff. "Heartland FC and Lobi Stars FC reach Federation Cup final". KickOff. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  7. ↑ CAF Champions League squad
  8. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "NFT player — National team & Club appearances: Okoye, Kelechi". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
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