Rivers United Football Club is a professional

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 ...

that participates in the

Nigerian Professional Football 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 ...

, the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. The club was formed by the merger of Sharks F.C. and Dolphins F.C. in 2016. Their home stadium is the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, formerly

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 Elekahia that has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 30,000. Rivers United FC has remained in the top flight since its first season. They have been performing well in this season’s

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

where they defeated a South African opponent to set up a highly anticipated matchup against

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and ...

History

Rivers United was founded in 2016 after the Rivers state government got permission to merge Dolphins FC and Sharks FC. Both clubs were run by the state government and were having difficulty with finances off the pitch. Sharks were relegated to the First Division in 2015 while Dolphins had barely escaped after a 2–2 draw on the final day. Rivers United' crest contains both a shark and a dolphin as a result of the merge. Stanley Eguma was appointed Rivers' first coach and led them to a win in their first ever league match, 1–0 over Enyimba. The club finished second in the 2016 Nigerian Premier League which qualified them for the

2017 CAF Champions League The 2017 CAF Champions League (officially the 2017 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 21st edit ...

for the first time. A four-goal second-leg win over Mali's

AS Bamako AS Bamako is a Malian football club based in Bamako. They play in the top division in Malian football. Their home stadium is Stade Municipal de Bamako. Achievements * Malien Cup The Coupe du Mali Orange for sponsorship reasons is the top knoc ...

with Esosa Igbinoba and

Bernard Ovoke Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brave ...

each scoring braces put Rivers past the preliminary round. However, they were eliminated by Sudan's

Al-Merrikh Al-Merrikh Sporting Club ( ar, نادي المريخ الرياضي) is a Sudanese football club based in Omdurman. Their home stadium is Al-Merrikh Stadium, which is locally known as The Red Castle. Founded in 1908, Al-Merrikh is one of the o ...

4–3 on aggregate in the first round after losing a 3–0 first round lead.

2021–22: Nigerian Professional League Champions

On June 25, 2022, Rivers United won their first Nigeria Professional League title with four games to spare after

Akwa United Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home stadium. ...

beat their nearest challengers, Plateau United 2-1 in

Uyo Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom in South South Nigeria. Ibibio is the language spoken in Uyo. It became the capital on September 23, 1987 when Akwa Ibom was created from the former Cross River State. According to the 2006 Nigerian Cens ...

. Rivers United ended the season with 77 points, breaking the league record of 73 points in a season. The 2021-22 Nigeria Professional League title is their first league title since the merger between

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

and Sharks FC of Port Harcourt in 2016. It is also the first NPFL title by a Rivers-based side since the Dolphins won in 2011. Rivers United won 23 games, drew 8, and lost 7 of their 38 league games as they claimed the 2021-22 league title with 10 points ahead of their closest rivals, Plateau United.

Staff

Head Coach * Stanley Eguma Assistant Coach * Fatai Osho Acting General Manager * Okey Kpalukwu Welfare Secretary * Albert Chinwo Media Officer * Mayuku Charles

Current squad

''As of 13 February 2023'' (

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

)

Notes

External links

Rivers United FC official site
{{Nigerian Premier League Association football clubs established in 2016 Football clubs in Port Harcourt 2016 establishments in Nigeria 2010s establishments in Rivers State Sports clubs in Nigeria