In the early days of football in Nigeria, clubs like Stationery Stores, Mighty Jets, Bendel Insurance, IICC Shooting Stars, Enugu Rangers and Kano Pillars took over from ZAC Bombers, Lagos Marine, Lagos Railways, Port Harcourt FC and Ibadan Lions.The clubs shared among them the championship and Challenge Cup, with their players forming strong national teams. Rangers produced great players like Christian Chukwu, goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala, Sylvanus Okpala, Michael Ogbodudu, Ben Okoro, Christian Ogbodo, Oke Isima, Aloysius Atuegbu, Adokiye Amiesimaka, Patrick Ekeji, Ifeanyi Onyedika and Emma Osigwe.From Ibadan, IICC Shooting Stars had Kafaru Alabi, Kunle Awesu, Samuel Ojebode, Idowu Otubusin Nathaniel Adewole, Sam Ashanti, goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe and Segun Odegbami.In Lagos, Stationery Stores had players like Yomi Peters, goalkeeper Peter Fregene, Peter Anieke, Tony Igwe, Austin Ofoku, Willie Andrew, Olumo Deji, Sam Opone, Muyiwa Asode and Mohammed Lawal. They were players who drew the crowd to the stadium every week.Until the 1990s, the clubs were still strong and by then, clubs like NNB of Benin, Flash Flamingoes, Leventis United and Abiola Babes were adding quality to the status of the Nigerian league.Today, most of the clubs are no more. Shooting Stars are struggling to reclaim their glory, battling relegation every season.Rangers face the same fate, while Bendel Insurance, relegated in 2008 due to ownership dispute, are finding it difficult to return to the Premier League. BCC Lions of Gboko, the Premier League title champions in 1994, four-time FA Cup champions between 1989 and 1997 and African Cup Winners Cup champions in 1990, are no more.Clubs like Flash Flamingoes, Leventis United, Abiola Babes and NNB have since wound up.The implication of the disappearance of these traditional clubs is that great players, who fans easily associate with for the sake of the clubs, are no longer produced.Coach Tunde Disu, who took the Nigeria U-20 team to the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, said the success Nigeria enjoyed at the time was because the traditional clubs were strong enough to hold on to super stars for a long time."There were so many talented players in Nigeria at the time playing for these clubs. The good thing was that those clubs were loved by the fans and the players enjoyed the atmosphere. When you enjoy such love, you dont think of leaving the club or perform below expectation."But we cannot blame the players for the fall of those clubs. I think most of the clubs were badly managed by successive administrators who took over from the founders."Those who established the clubs had an idea of what it must look like after some decades. What we have realised is that the new management drew the clubs backwards because they did not understand the idea behind the formation of the clubs."Christian Chukwu, who was Rangers captain, led Nigeria Green Eagles to the first Nations Cup in 1980. He said the lack of support from the fans resulted in the death of some of the great clubs as well as their gradual disappearance."We had supporters who did everything to make sure that the clubs survived in those days. Today, the support is no more. In some cases, supports rely on clubs for support and when things like these happen, the club will feel the burden."Chukwu added that state ownership of the clubs started a long time ago and that one of the factors that sustained the clubs was the financial strength of the administrators."Regions and states have always established clubs in Nigeria. But they put wealthy men who are passionate about the game as chairmen and administrators. They helped the clubs financially, and I can remember Chief Lekan Salami of IICC, who used his resources to develop the club." he said."I dont think we have something like that again. Players are now owed salaries and allowances. The clubs have history and tradition which attracted players from Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Togo and other African countries at the time. Every good player would want to wear the jerseys of Ranger Pillars, IICC and Bendel Insurance in those days. Today, the glamour is no longer there. What those clubs can do is to create awareness programme for the players where the history of the clubs will be discussed. If that is done, the players will know the importance of wearing the jerseys."Ajibade Babalade was in the Shooting Stars team that reached the final of the Champions League final in 1998. It was a period that marked the gradual end of a golden era as the club started struggling, even though they won CAF title in 1998. The defender said Nigerias economy should be blamed for the problems of the clubs."Clubs need money to win titles. These clubs were successful in those days but they fell because they could not compete in the market with other African teams. Shooting Stars have nothing to prove to anyone in Nigeria. Everybody knows that they have helped in the development of football in the country. They might not have won the Champions League but they brought to Nigeria the first club trophy in 1976. The victory was celebrated throughout the nation."But while clubs like Zamalek, Al Ahly and TP Mazembe, who belonged to the class when 3SC and Rangers were great, are still doing well because they buy good players and stay above the rest in terms of remuneration offered players and coaches, their counterparts in Nigeria rely on government. We dont have sponsors and gate-taking brings nothing. In fact, I see fans struggle to gain entrance to the stadium without match tickets."Its a pity that Stores, which I played for, are no more. As a player, you feel bad that you cannot point to your root any longer."Former Eagles defender, Bright Omokaro, is the coach saddled with the responsibility of bringing back Bendel Insurance to the Premier League. According to him, every era will end one day but only those who foresee the future will be part of it.He said, "These were clubs who dominated Nigerian football between 1970s and 1990s. But let us remember that they took over from some clubs too. In Europe, most of the successful clubs were founded in the 1880s and they are still competing. This is because they responded to the change in their environment. I think our problem in Africa is that we like to live in the past," he said."When new clubs like Ocean Boys, Sunshine Stars, Wolves, Bukola Babes and Dolphins were coming up, they gave the traditional clubs a good fight. That was when clubs like Rangers, IICC and so on, would have woken up. But we sat back and relied on history and the names. Today, new clubs are winning the laurels. "At Insurance, we are looking at bringing the club back but we are studying the current trend. There was an era when the management style used in those days was suitable for the development of the clubs, today, things have changed and we have to live with it," the coach said.Former Abiola Babes and Eagles defender, Yisa Shofoluwe said it was time for Nigeria to allow the system encourage private ownership of football clubs. Citing the success recorded by Abiola Babes when the late MKO Abiola was funding, Shofoluwe said Stores, BCC, Flamingoes, Julius Berger and Leventis would still be competing if the environment allowed their survival."Out of 20 Premier League clubs, only one is owned by an individual. Individuals and companies who established clubs in the past could not continue because the league is not run professionally. Nobody really knows how much is involved in TV rights and title sponsorship. The clubs should be getting something from being a member of the league. When you spend money on a business, you are expecting gain and not losses. Government can afford to spend so much but how many individuals can do that on a club'" he asked.
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