Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team. They are based in Enugu and play their home games at the

Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Enugu, Nigeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Enugu Rangers. The stadium has a capacity of 22,000 and it was named after the first president of ...

. Enugu Rangers are one of the three oldest clubs in

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 ...

since their formation in 1970, the other two being Bendel Insurance and Kano Pillars. They are the only Nigerian team never to have been relegated from the Nigeria Premier League.

History

The 1970s

Enugu Rangers were founded in 1970 and won a nationally organised tournament which allowed them to qualify for the 1971 African Cup of Champions Clubs. Rangers first international tournament ended in defeat in the quarterfinal rounds, losing 0–3 on aggregate to ASEC Mimosas. They almost achieved instant success in the cup as well, making the final of the first Nigerian FA Cup in 1971, but losing 2–1 to Shooting Stars F.C. After winning the 1974 double, including a 2–0 cup final win over Mighty Jets, the Enugu players were given promotions at the Nigerian Sports Council and cars. Rangers lost the 1975 African Cup of Champions Clubs to Guinea's

Hafia FC Hafia Football Club is a football club based in Conakry, Guinea. Founded in 1951, the team was known as Conakry II in the 1960s and won three titles under that name. Hafia have won 15 league titles overall having dominated in 1960s and 70s, but t ...

, earning left-back Silvanus Okpalla the nickname "Hafia" for his poor play in the final. Enugu had overturned a 3–1 defeat in Egypt in the semifinal to qualify for the final. Founding Ranger Ernest Ufele retired after the defeat. International success finally came in 1977. The club, now managed by their first-ever captain Godwin Achebe, had lost several players to Ibo state when the new jurisdiction was created in 1976. In the quarterfinals, they were held to a goalless draw at home by defensively minded ASF Police of Dakar. Twenty minutes into the second half, Rangers took the lead, silencing the Senegal stadium, and won the game 2–1. After the game ended, Nigerian press noted the team was beaten by Senegalese fans, including three stabbed Rangers players. A military plane was flown to Dakar to evacuate the victors. The 1977 semi-finals set up one of the greatest ties in Nigerian football history as Enugu were drawn against Shooting Stars. Rangers would go on to defeat Canon Yaounde 5–2 on aggregate in the final, including a 4–1 win on Nigerian soil. During this time period, Rangers boasted a number of Nigerian national team players such as

Christian Chukwu Christian Chukwu Okoro (born 4 January 1951) is a Nigerian football former player and former national team coach. A defender in his playing days, he captained the Nigeria national team to its first win in the African Nations Cup. Playing ca ...

, goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala and Aloysius Atuegbu.

The 1980s

Led by coach Christian Chukwu, Enugu won the 1983 Nigerian Cup, defeating DIC Bees of

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw. Rangers won their sixth title in 1984 with a number of players who had led Nigeria to the 1980 African Cup of Nations. Louis Igwilo captained the team.

The 1990s: lean years

Rangers joined the new fully professional league in 1990 and made cup final that year, losing to Stationery Stores on 5–4 on penalty kicks. They would not make another cup final appearance in the decade, and their best league finish was third in 1998.

The 2000s

Enugu topped the table after the 2001 home and away season but finished bottom of the four-team championship playoff group. Enugu Rangers made the group stage of the 2004 CAF Confederation Cup and missed out on winning the group and making the final after losing a head-to-head tiebreaker to Asante Kotoko. Rangers drew 0–0 against Angola's Petro de Luanda and celebrated, thinking they had advanced on goal difference, but the first tiebreaker was head-to-head. In the 2005 season, Rangers finished as Runners-up in the league, five points off eventual champions Enyimba. In 2008–09, they played some games in nearby

Abakaliki Abakaliki is the capital city of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria, located southeast of Enugu. The inhabitants are primarily members of the Igbo nation. It was the headquarters of the Ogoja province before the creation of the Southeastern ...

and

Nnewi Nnewi is a commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. It is the second largest and second most populous city in the southern part of the country. Nnewi as a metropolis has one local government area, which is Nnewi Nort ...

as their stadium was renovated for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Before the season started, Enugu State governor Sullivan Chime paid the backlog of sign-on fees dating to three years ago and all other debts owed the players. In November 2008, Rangers became the first Nigerian clubside to be a public company and sell ownership stock. However the deal fell through, and the club began the 2009 season in debt. The club is currently owned by the state government. Enugu did begin a 12-year run of success in a minor trophy, the local state FA Cup, which they won every year from 2005 to 2017.

2016–current: Success again

After a 2015 season which nearly saw them relegated, Enugu won the 2016 Nigeria Premier League, their first championship since 1982. Closest challengers Rivers United needed Enugu to lose on the final day of the season, but Rangers won their game against El-Kanemi Warriors 4–0 to win the championship. 2017 saw Enugu struggle, dropping into the relegation zone halfway through the season. They recovered, finishing 14th and keeping alive their streak of never being relegated from the top flight. The club went on to won their first Nigerian Cup in 35 years in 2018. Rangers stunned Kano Pillars, coming back from a 3–0 deficit to win the trophy on penalties. Ajani Ibrahim scored on a diving header two minutes into stoppage time to tie the game 3–3. Rangers played in the final five times from 1987 to 2007, never winning once. In the first championship playoff clash on Wednesday, June 13, 2019, Enugu Rangers defeated FC IfeanyiUbah 4–2 in a six-goal thriller to secure a CAF Confederation Cup ticket. Many Nigerians remember with fondness watching Enugu Rangers play in the 1970s and 1980s.

Rivalries

Enyimba and Rangers compete in the "Oriental derby."

Honours

Nigeria 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 ...

: 7 **Winners::1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

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 ...

: 6 **Winners::1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1983,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

* Nigerian Super Cup: 1 **Winners::2004 * African Cup of Champions Clubs **Runners-up:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* African Cup Winners' Cup: 1 **Winners::

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

Performance in CAF competitions

* African Cup of Champions Clubs / CAF Champions League : 10 appearances The club had 7 appearances in African Cup of Champions Clubs from 1971 to 1985 and 3 appearances in CAF Champions League from 2006 to 2017. :: 1971 – Quarter-finals ::

– ''Finalist'' ::

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

– Semi-finals :: 1978 – Semi-finals :: 1982 – Semi-finals ::

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

– First Round ::

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

– Second Round :: 2006 – First Round ::

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

– Second Round ::

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

– First Round * CAF Confederation Cup: 4 appearances :: 2004 – Group stage :: 2005 – Intermediate Round ::

– Intermediate Round ::

– Playoff Round :: 2018–19 – Group stage :: 2019–20 – Group stage *

CAF Cup The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to the pre-existing CAF international club competition the African Cup of Champions Clubs. History The tou ...

: 2 appearances :: 1996 – Second Round :: 2003 – Semi-finals * CAF Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances ::

– Champion ::

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

– Quarter-finals

Current first team squad

''As of 26 November 2021''

Staff

''Chairman'' * Festus Onu ''general manager'' * Prince Davidson Owumi ''Team Manager'' * Amobi Ezeaku ''Head Coach'' * Salisu Yusuf ''Chief Coach'' * Mbwas Mangut ''Physiotherapist'' * Adejuyigbe Opeyemi ''Assistant Coach I'' * John Edeh ''Assistant Coach II'' * ''Trainer I'' * [] ''Trainer II'' * ] ''Trainer III'' * [] ''Trainer IV'' * [] ''GoalKeeper Trainer I'' * [Victor Okoh] ''GoalKeeper Trainer II'' * [] ''Media Officer'' * [Norbert Okolie]

Former head coaches

* Daniel Anyiam (1970–72) * Godwin Achebe (1972–78) * Roberto Diaz (1980–82) * Denilson Custodio 1982 *

Janusz Kowalik Janusz "John" Kowalik (born 26 March 1944) is a Polish former association football striker who scored prolifically in both the European leagues and the North American Soccer League. He was the 1968 NASL MVP. Player Club career Kowalik was bo ...

(1983–84) *

Kosta Papić Kosta Papić ( sr-Cyrl, Коста Папић; born 17 July 1960) is a Serbian football coach who has managed a number of great African clubs in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. Coaching career Previous clubs: Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzbur ...

(2002–3) *

Okey Emordi Felix Okechukwu Emordi is a Nigerian former football player who played for Enugu Rangers International. After his retirement from active football, he went into coaching and went on to guide Enyimba International F.C. to win the 2004 CAF Champions ...

(2008) *

(2008 – Aug 09) * Alphonsus Dike (Sept 2009–11) *

(Feb 2012 – Oct 13) * Imama Amapakabo (2015–17)

Notable players

* Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha * Emmanuel Okala *

References

External links

{{Authority control Football clubs in Nigeria Association football clubs established in 1970 Enugu 1970 establishments in Nigeria Sports clubs in Nigeria Unrelegated association football clubs African Cup Winners Cup winning clubs