BCC Lions Football Club (Benue Cement Company Lions Football Club) is a Nigerian football team based in

Gboko Gboko is a town in the Benue State of North-central Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. ...

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...

, that competes in the

Nigeria Amateur League National Nationwide League Division One (formerly known as Nigerian Amateur League) is the third level of club football in Nigeria. Every year, up to eight teams are promoted to the Professional Division One. Starting in 2012, the league changed ...

, and plays its home games at the J. S. Tarka Stadium.

History

BCC Lions was founded in 1982 by the owner of Benue Cement Company,

Aliko Dangote ''For people with the given name, see Aliko (given name).'' Aliko ( sq-definite, Alikoi; ) is a village and a former commune in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Fini ...

. BCC Lions was the first team in

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...

to win the Nigeria Challenge Cup (now known as the Nigeria FA Cup) in 1989. The game was played at

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Bauchi, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of the Wikki Tourists. The stadium has a capacity of 11,000 and was opened in 1985 and named afte ...

, Bauchi and the only goal of the match scored by Aham Nwankwo. The club went on to win the 1993, 1994, 1997 editions of the Challenge Cup as well. After winning the Challenge Cup the club won the first edition of the Mandela Cup in 1990. During the early 1990s, BCC Lions were one of the dominant teams in the league, peaking with the double in 1994. They were relegated from the

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwind ...

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 The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the volume ...

boost from

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 The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

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.

Achievements

: 1 ::1994 *

Nigerian FA Cup The AITEO Cup (a.k.a. Challenge Cup, sometimes shortened to Fed Cup), is the main football single-elimination tournament in Nigeria contested by 74 teams, representing the 36 states + 1 FCT of Nigeria. It is the Nigerian domestic cup and the Nig ...

: 4 ::1989, 1993, 1994, 1997 * African Cup Winners' Cup: 1 ::1990

Performance in CAF competitions

* African Cup of Champions Clubs: 1 appearance ::

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

– Second Round * CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 4 appearances ::1990 – Champion ::1991 – ''Finalist'' ::1994 – Quarter-Finals ::1998 – First Round

References

External links

GULDER SPLASHES N20.5m ON CLUBS

The Punch: Benue woos BCC to revive Lions

BCC Lions to bounce back

Benue government moves to revive BCC Lions

{{CAF Cup Winners' Cup winners Football clubs in Nigeria Benue State Association football clubs established in 1982 1982 establishments in Nigeria Sports clubs in Nigeria African Cup Winners Cup winning clubs