Sharks F.C. is a former

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in Port Harcourt,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

. They played in the top division in Nigerian football, 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 dwindl ...

. Their home stadium was

Sharks Stadium Sharks Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Part of the Alfred Diete-Spiff Rivers State sports complex, it is used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Sharks F.C. The stadium has a capac ...

although they played some of their bigger games at

Liberation Stadium Yakubu Gowon Stadium (formerly ''Liberation Stadium'') is a multi-purpose stadium in the Elekahia suburb of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Rivers United F.C., formerly Dolphi ...

. In 2016, the club was officially merged with city rivals Dolphins F.C. and the two teams became collectively known as Rivers United F.C.

History

Sharks were almost relocated to

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

in 1998 due to crowd problems. In protest, they missed the last six games of the 1998 Professional League, finished bottom of the league on 32 points, and were suspended for two years.

2009–10

They started the 2009–10 season slow out of the gate, anchored to the bottom of the table and going through three managers when Kadiri Ikhana left after eight games. On 27 February 2010 they were suspended indefinitely by the league for "noncompliance of statutes" after a shakeup of their management staff. This occurred after the team was robbed in

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

on their way back from a minicamp in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. They managed to finish in 16th place with 48 points, avoiding relegation by one point.

Merger with Dolphins

After relegation in 2016, the

Government of Rivers State The Government of Rivers State consists of elected representatives and appointed officials responsible for the government of Rivers State, Nigeria. Rivers State has a population of about 5 million people, and is one of the 36 states that make up t ...

merged the Sharks F.C. with their rivals Dolphins F.C. to create Rivers United F.C. which took Dolphins' slot in the Premier League.

Achievements

West African Club Championship (UFOA Cup) The West African Club Championship (UFOA Cup), also known as the General Eyadéma Cup, was a West African Club tournament from 1977 to 1999. It was open to league runners-up in the West Africa (or ''Zone 3'') region of the CAF. While the first mat ...

** Winners (1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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 ...

**Runners-up (3): 1979, 2003, 2009

Notes

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.sharks-fc.com Association football clubs established in 1972 Football clubs in Port Harcourt 1972 establishments in Nigeria 1970s establishments in Rivers State Sports clubs in Nigeria Association football clubs disestablished in 2016 2016 disestablishments in Nigeria 2010s disestablishments in Rivers State Defunct football clubs in Nigeria