Niger Tornadoes F.C.

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Niger Tornadoes
Full nameNiger Tornadoes Football Club
Nickname(s)Ikon Allah
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
GroundBako Kontagora Stadium
Minna, Nigeria
Capacity5,000
ChairmanHon. Adamu Aliyu Mohammed
ManagerIbeh Chidi Andrew[1]
LeagueNigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)
2021—22Nigeria Professional Football League, 12th of 20[2]

Niger Tornadoes Football Club is a soccer club based in Minna, Nigeria. They currently play in the Nigerian Professional Football League. Their home stadium is Bako Kontagora Stadium and have also played home game at Confluence Stadium in Lokoja.

History[edit]

In 2005 they finished in the lower half of the Nigerian Premier League but avoided relegation by three points. The club has suffered financial difficulties, with players complaining of unpaid salaries and bonuses.

After a 0–3 start to the 2008–09 season the entire management was sacked. The replacements for the chairman (David Suleiman) and the manager (Danladi Nasidi) had the same positions at the club from 2004–05 when they finished 13th and 14th in the Premier League. On November 15, the team hired Justin Tenger as technical adviser, a role he had until 2004.

They were relegated from the Premier League in 2012 on goal difference after scoring 38 goals in 36 games. Thirteen of the goals were scored by Sibi Gwar who was the league's top scorer. They won promotion again in 2015 after winning the Nigeria National League.

Niger Tornadoes were promoted back to the top division in 2015. Coach Abdullahi Biffo led them to a promotion spot which they clinched after defeating Mighty Jets F.C. 2–0.[3]

Niger Tornadoes were runners up in the Nigerian FA Cup in 2017 after losing on penalties to Akwa United.[4]

The club was fined N1 million in 2019 for crowd troubles in a game against Bendel Insurance.[5]

Achievements[edit]

2000
1996, 2015

Performance in CAF competitions[edit]

2001 – Quarter-finals
2010 – Quarter-finals

Current team[edit]

As of 11 February 2019

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Nigeria NGA Ndem Innocent
2 Nigeria NGA James Martins Iko
3 FW Nigeria NGA Anthony Onyebuchi Onyeakazi
4 Nigeria NGA Moses Ugwu
5 DF Nigeria NGA Sunday Akinmoladun
6 DF Nigeria NGA Sarki Ismaila
7 MF Nigeria NGA Tanko Awwal
8 MF Nigeria NGA Adetola Ayo
9 FW Nigeria NGA Ejiofor Izuchukwu
11 Ghana GHA Eric Frimpong
13 Nigeria NGA Peter Abashiya
14 MF Nigeria NGA Obinna Jacob
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF Nigeria NGA Ibrahim Babawo Abubakar
20 FW Nigeria NGA Mustapha Jibrin
21 AMF Nigeria NGA Miazina Nwimueyii
22 FW Nigeria NGA Osondu Jonathan
23 FW Nigeria NGA Analaba Uchechukwu
27 Nigeria NGA Atsen Emmanuel
28 DF Nigeria NGA Anyamele Chukwuemeka
30 GK Nigeria NGA Mustapha Salihu Aliko
32 Nigeria NGA Mohammed Aliyu
33 Nigeria NGA Wakili Musa Abdullahi
34 MF Nigeria NGA Alani Azeez
35 MF Nigeria NGA Abiodun Afolabi
36 Nigeria NGA Mohammed Abubakar
38 Nigeria NGA Bashar Usman

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tornadoes Coach Bala insists club won't be relegated". npfl.ng. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  2. ^ "NPFL 2021/2022 standings - overall, home/away standings". Flashscore. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  3. ^ Prince, Toby (September 30, 2015). "Meet the four teams promoted to the Nigeria Premier League". qed.ng.
  4. ^ "Akwa Utd Defeats Tornadoes to Win Maiden Aiteo Cup". thisdaylive.com.
  5. ^ "LMC fines Niger Tornadoes N1 million for crowd troubles". Dailytimes.ng. February 7, 2015.