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Sapele is a city in southwestern Nigeria, located in Delta State. Sapele is situated at the headwaters of the Benin River, which flows out to the Niger Delta.

Football development in Sapele started in the 1950’s, when football was just at its infancy in Nigeria, and Sapele a town noted for excellence was at the fore front in football then. The then Sapele township stadium was among the first constructed stadium in Nigeria The desire to fully develop football at the grassroots level gave birth to the Sapele Amateur Football Association in 1987.

This was quickly followed by the staging of the inaugural Sapele Cup of Nations Competition in 1988. It was a competition that featured 16 teams from Sapele and environs. Some of the teams that participated at the inaugural Cup of Nations competition include: K.B Stars, Athletico De Marin, Ghana Black Stars and Loaders F.C.

The competition was put together by Mr. Gabriel Igarri and Mr. Dan Evumena. It is interesting to note that the inaugural Sapele Cup of Nations trophy was donated by Chief P.D.O Akpeki the Ugo of Okpe Kingdom. Going back to football development in Sapele, it is worthy of note to recall that in 1968, Nova Luna Football Club was formed. It was the first Youth club in Sapele. It was founded by Late Mr. Tony Okonedo who was then a Graded football referee. He also founded Ladies Football club that same year. After the formation of Nova Luna, came Niger Pools Football club in 1969. It was formed by the Niger Pools company.

It later metamorphosed into Strangers Football Club in 1969 which was formed by former players of Niger Pools F.C. Strangers Football club was then captained by Olayinka John( Ayogi) who died on the 7th of January 2010 after a protracted illness. The club existed for two and a half years.

In 1971, Ethiope F.C Sapele was formed and it gained prominence due to the caliber of players in its fold then. When it was rumored that the club will be leaving Sapele for a new base, the then Governor of Bendel State- Osaigbovo Ogbemudia took over the affairs of the club and re-named it New Nigeria Bank F.C, with its base in Sapele.

There were four State club in the then Bendel State

Ethiope Football Club (Later re-named New Nigeria Bank F.C Sapele)

Viper F.C Benin (Later re-named Bendel Insurance of Benin)

Ika Rangers F.C Agbor (Later re-named Midwest Line F.C)

Warri Wolves F.C Warri (Later re-named Midwest Line F.Cz)

These four clubs were later handed over to various companies by the then Bendel State Government.

In 1971/72, there was the eleven brothers F.C and Eleven Strikers F.C both based in Sapele.

Late Olayinka John (Ayogi) was the then coach of eleven brothers. The club produced the likes of German Odjegbe who was the then captain of Bendel U-17 football team that won Gold medal at the 1973 National Sports Festival. The club also produced Prince Afejukwu, Oshoff Shogbene, goalkeeper Nasiru Momoh, Samuel Afejukwu and Ighoraye Ogayone. Eleven Strikers F.C were then captained by Monday Daibo and the team had the likes of Andrew Boyo.

In 1973, Ethiope F.C later re-named New Nigeria Bank F.C left Sapele and in 1974, the team was then known as Custom and Exercise F.C. A bulk of players from Strangers F.C Sapele formed the Custom F.C which was then under the Custom and Exercise Department.

The team was then captained by inspirational defender Gabriel Igarri from 1975 to 1983. Within this period under review, there were other teams that sprang up in the Sapele metropolis. These include: Government Coastal Agency F.C – Founded in 1976, Seaboard F.C (Comprising Delta Packaging company, Life Flour Mills and Top feeds)- founded in 1977 and Palm Line Agency F.C- Founded in 1977. From these three teams, a joint team to represent Sapele was formed. It was then called Urhiapele F.C. Urhiapele F.C was founded in the 1985/1986 season. The club did not however last long due to administrative problems. They only played one friendly match against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Football Club Warri.

There was also the Rainbow Football club which came into existence in 1980. The club which was then playing in the State League/ State Challenge Cup was sponsored by Chief Michael Ibru. One notable player that came out of the ranks of Rainbow F.C was Goalkeeper Andrew Aikhomogbe who later rose to prominence and represented the U-17 National team the Golden Eaglets at the FIFA U-17 Championship tagged Scotland 89.

As long as there have been sport teams, there have been rivalries. Whether it’s the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox or the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, the two rival teams inevitably end up meeting again and again, forming an ongoing heated rivalry that delights fans of the sport. One such rivalry is between Spanish football teams FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

FC Barcelona (also known as Barça by its fans) and Real Madrid are two of the earliest Spanish football teams, both forming in the 1890s. From the start, the two teams were seen as representatives of two rival regions of Spain, the ancient kingdoms of Castile and Catalonia. Both teams were part of La Liga, a Spanish football league and a rivalry that went far beyond football quickly took root.

It was during and after the Spanish Civil War that the rivalry took on more political overtones. Dictator Francisco Franco banned all peripheral languages, such as Catalan, the language of Barcelona. Catalonia had long been associated with more progressive fashions and political ideas, such as democracy-which was the diametric opposite of Franco’s dictatorial regime. FC Barcelona suffered as a result of being a part of the Catalonian culture. Real Madrid, on the other hand, was seen by many Spaniards (and Catalonians in particular) as the «establishment» club. Though Franco seemed to favor Real Madrid, members of both teams suffered under his regime.

The fierce rivalry continued into the 1950s when both clubs sought to sign Alfredo Di Stefano to play for them. Real Madrid eventually won out and Alfredo Di Stefano went on to lead them to many wins. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid went head-to-head twice at the European Cup in the 1960s, with Real Madrid winning one and FC Barcelona winning the other. The two teams clashed once again over a player in 2000 when Luis Figo left FC Barcelona and signed with Real Madrid. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid competed against each other again in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2002, with Real Madrid getting the win. The Spanish media dubbed the match «The Match of the Century».

In the mid-2000s, the rivalry ascended to further heights when it acquired its own name, El Clasico. The term El Clasico was traditionally assigned to any South American football rivalry, but the growth of football in the Americas coupled with these two great teams’ rivalry led to the coining of the term as applied to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. This was mostly a marketing scheme communicated via GolTV, an all-football satellite channel, but the term has been embraced by fans worldwide.

El Clasico shows no signs of slowing. To this very day, the two teams inevitably seek each other out on the field to find out who is the best team in Spain. Sometimes FC Barcelona wins and sometimes Real Madrid wins, but ultimately football fans worldwide are the ones who win whenever these two giants meet on the field.

German Premier League or Bundesliga has many high-profile football clubs competing in it for the title. There is no doubt that Bayern Munich has been enjoying its monopoly in Bundesliga for quite a few seasons. It is one of the most popular international football clubs. Needless to say, Bayern’s growing popularity has led the fans all over the globe to gather several important pieces of information and facts about the club. Here are a few Bayern Munich facts that the fans are less likely to like giving a miss to.

· The club’s full name is FC Bayern Munchen AG. It was established in 1900. That means the club is a 100-year old entity. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in Europe.

· Franz Beckenbauer, one of the best footballers in the world, was once the chairman of the club. The football legend later went on to become an advisor to this club. His contribution helped the club a lot to gain an envious position that it is still enjoying.

· FC Bayern Munich is, by far, the most dominating team in Bundesliga and has won the title more than 20 times till date. Not only has the club been most popular in the German League but has also made an impressive name for itself internationally.

· Allianz Arena is the home ground of the club and can host about 70,000 football lovers. Needless to say, the club receives the warmest reception on their home turf and has won a number of memorable matches there.

· The first ever title won by this club was in 1909 in the Bavarian Championship and since then, they have never looked back.

· Bayern Munich was initially started by the Munich Gymnastic club.

· The club lifted their first ever European Championship cup by defeating Atletico Madrid with a 4-0 score and managed to defend their title for three years in a row. The team has similar credits of defending their «Champion» status in other leagues as well.

· The club is run much like a standard company, with 90% of its shares being owned by the club and remaining 10% by Adidas. BM is one of the most profitable international football clubs.

· It is one of the very few clubs to have won the European cup, the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners Cup.

· Oliver Kahn set a record of keeping clean sheets for maximum number of times in 2001-2002. However, BM goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer has smashed the record by maintaining 20 clean sheets. Players from this club have been nominated for the Ballon D’Or 15 times till date and won it 5 times.

· The 2014-2015 Bundesliga season saw Bayern win the Championship title for the fourth year in a row.

· Seven Bayern players played for Germany in the FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil. Germany had an impressive run throughout the campaign and won the World Cup for the fifth time.

· FC Bayern Munich has made it to the DFB Cup semifinals for eight times straight.

Golden goals intend to scoop out details about the most celebrity clubs in Europe to keep adding to knowledge of their fans. Keep reading the website and its blog to stay updated on football news.

Football development in Sapele, continued in the late 1980’s when some notable youth clubs were formed.

One of such club was the K.B Stars, which was formed in 1988 and solely financed by Chief K.B Omatseye. Some notable players that came from K.B Stars included: Andrew Aikomogbe, Destiny Iyonu (late), Oke Mariere, Femi Coker and Jerome Ezeoba. Another Youth club that gained prominence then, was the Pedro stars Football club.

It came into existence in 1988 and produced the likes of: Daniel Odedede, Jerome, Ike Ibe and Elvis Eruje. It was under the tutelage of Coach Daniel Evumena former Falconet and Falcons of Nigeria Head coach.

Golden Stars football club was another youth club which gained prominence in 1988. One notable player that came from their rank was Erivona Idahosa.

Finally, Athletico De Miren football club became a household name in the beautiful city of Sapele during the peak of grassroots football (1986-1995), and they won some domestic laurels.

They had some talented football player like Godwin Ovieghara, Emmanuel Ovieghara, Martins Ewerebo and Paul Akpokere in their ranks.

The club remained in existence till 1995 when Mr. Larry Kubeinje came to Sapele to bring football to limelight and thus began the birth of Urhiapele F.C.

In 1996, Urhiapele F.C won the Delta State League to become the first club from Sapele to win the trophy since its inception.

The club was able to achieve this remarkable feat as a result of a sound technical bench which was then piloted by Coach Solomon Ovieghara and the effort of enterprising player’s like- Faith Igbayo, Elvis Eruje, Ike Ibe, Godwin Ovieghara, Erivona Idahosa, Cyril Emujuagbe and a host of others.

Immediately after the club won the State league, more than 18 of its players secured professional contract with some Pro League teams in Nigeria.

In 2008 after the relegation of Delta United of Warri from Pro to Amateur division, a slot was given to Sapele to play in the Amateur division, and this slot was taken over by Okpe United F.C of Sapele which till date remains the only amateur football club in Sapele.

Mention must be made of some other youth teams which emanated in the 80’s/early 90’s, but never gained much prominence. Top on the list was Emeka United which was then based in Amukpe sapele and were under the tutelage of Coach Chikodi Onuoha and John Okokoyo. The team brought out enterprising striker- Freeborn Itejeri to limelight who later joined KB Stars and eventually became a key member of the Aba Millionaire club (Enyimba F.C) in the 2004-2006 seasons.

It is however sad to note, that all the youths Clubs in Sapele have faded into oblivion, due to lack of sponsorship from both the public and private sectors and gross administrative flaws.

On a bright note, Sapele has the enviable reputation of producing the only FIFA badge referee in the then Bendel State in the person of FIFA Daniel Aghante (Black Arrow).

A 5,000 sitter ultra modern stadium is still presently under construction, and when completed, will further boost football development not only in Sapele, but in the entire State.

With the fixture list for the Spanish league now published we are now in a position to start planning which matches to go and see. One of the top two clubs in Spain is normally considered to be FC Barcelona, and here we discuss the highlights of the fixture list for the year.

The top matches are undoubtedly the games between Barcelona and Real Madrid due to the huge rivalry between the two cities and the rejection of a centralised Spain by many Catalans. The two clubs are life long archrivals and the matches eagerly awaited. The first round clash takes place in Barcelona on December 13th or 14th, with the return match at the Santiago Bernadeu stadium in Madrid taking place on May 2nd/3rd.

One of the other great clashes is against Barcelona’s second team, RCD Espanyol. This season the first leg is played at the Estadi Olimpic on the last weekend of September, with Espanyol crossing town for the Nou Camp on February 21st/22nd. While Espanyol aren’t at the same level as Barcelona, they do have a hardcore fan base and the results are not a forgone conclusion by any means.

Other top matches include Barcelona versus Getafe, a hard fighting team from Madrid. Although they only gained promotion to the top division several years ago, they quickly established a reputation as a worthy rival under the management of Bernd Schuster who is now at Real Madrid. They visit the Nou Camp on November 22nd/23rd, with Barça making the return match on April 18th/19th and other matches of note include Valencia and Sevilla, both worthy opponents.