The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FC Taraba

  • FC Taraba players get two months salary Tuesday

    FC Taraba players get two months salary Tuesday

    Players of the Pride of Jalingo will smile to the bank on Tuesday as the Taraba State government has vowed to pay part of their unpaid wages

    FC Taraba players are set to be paid two months’ salary arrears on Tuesday.

    Goalkeeper Ikechukwu Obilo informed Goal that the Taraba State government has agreed to fulfill their demands after staying for a week in front of the state’s government house.

    The League Management Company(LMC) paid the players, coaches and other officials of the Jalingo side a month’s salary before Christmas.

    He confessed to Goal that things have been very tough for them for over a year as breadwinners of their respective families but are still grateful to God that nothing untoward has happened to them.

    “We have been assured that we would get two months of our salary arrears paid on Tuesday. It was difficult to pay us on Wednesday because of some issues but we are around in Jalingo waiting for Tuesday to come before travelling to our base,” Obilo told Goal.

    Meanwhile, Goal’s investigation reveals that officials of the club won’t receive a dime from the money to be released on Tuesday after it was alleged that the state government found them culpable of inciting the players to embark on their recent demonstration within Jalingo.

    Due to financial crunches, FC Taraba were unable to hold their own in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) 2014/2015 season as they ended their two years romance in the elite division.

  • FC Taraba cries out to LMC, NFF again

    FC Taraba cries out to LMC, NFF again

    FC Taraba players and officials have cried out to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the League Management Company (LMC) to beam searchlight into the goings on in the relegated top flight side after they alleged that some forces in the state do not want the Government to release the money meant for the offset of their debt.

    SportingLife scooped from those that should know within the state that Governor Darius Ishaku has approved the payment of four months out of the 12 owed the players and officials of the club but that a top member of the NFF, who hails from the state and a current right hand person to the governor do not want this.

    A top official of the club told SportingLife that the two gladiators want the four months salaries to be paid to the players alone with the ones for the club officials withheld for no just cause.

    The source further alleged that the two  people also said that if the club officials would be paid alongside the players, then the approved four months salaries be slashed to two months.

    FC Taraba players woes have been well documented in recent times including the manhandling of the players by the soldiers attached to the Taraba State Government House, Jalingo when they went for a violent free protest.

    Nigerians including the Trade Union Congress(TUC) has lampooned the act and have written to relevant bodies to ensure that justice is served.

    FC Taraba got relegated at the end of the just concluded season where they finished 19th on the log with 39 points from 38 matches.

  • FC Taraba, Dolphins through to Fed Cup Round of 16

    FC Taraba, Dolphins through to Fed Cup Round of 16

    FC Taraba have punctured the impressive campaign of Owerri based non league side, Papilo FC after they pipped the club 1-0 in a Federation Cup Round of 32 tie played in Abuja yesterday.

    Joshua Abanya’s late minute goal was all the club needed to halt the run of Papilo FC who have the support of Kanu Nwankwo and accounted for the elimination of Gombe United in the last round.

    In other matches played yesterday,Dolphins zoomed to the Round of 16 after they defeated Jalingo FC 2-1 through the goals of Daniel Victor and Omoh Johnson in the fifth and 77th minutes while Wikki Tourists were shown the way out in Gusau after they lost 6-5 on penalties  to Niger Tornadoes Feeders. The game was 1-1 at regulation time after Tornadoes’ Feeders managed equalise Umar Mubarak’s strike for the Bauchi side about 20 minutes from time.

  • Crisis rocks FC Taraba

    Crisis rocks FC Taraba

    •As players boycott Federation Cup finals over unpaid salaries

    Nigeria Professional Football League leaders, FC Taraba is heading for the rocks as crisis is threatening the club’s ambition of winning a continental ticket this season.

    The club is currently faced with financial crisis which could only be saved by the Governor of the state as the club players’ have threatened to shun training and playing for the club in the Nigeria Professional Football League until their outstanding seven months salaries are paid.

    And to prove their seriousness and also drive home their point, all the first team players refused to return to Jalingo to play the state final of the Federation Cup match which was played on Saturday.

    SportingLife gathered from a top source from the club from Jalingo that virtually all the Premier League players shunned Saturday’s Federation Cup final and the Management and coaches of the team had to hurriedly arrange for FC Taraba Academy (Feeder’s team) to play the Federation Cup final which the team lost 1-0 to Jalingo FC.

    FC Taraba began the current Nigeria Premier League season with a bang winning two of the first three matches played so far and drawing the third. And it was said that the players took their legs off the pedal in the match they drew against Lobi Stars of Makurdi in Jalingo as they were said not to be in the right psychological state to play the match.

    Further information has it that the management of the club has been trying vigorously to get the attention of the acting governor to come to their aid and to avoid facing further embarrassment as the situation may force the League Management Company (LMC) to deduct points from them if they continue to owe the players’ salaries and emoluments.

    There are also fears that the players may refuse to honour their next league match against Bayelsa United if they are not paid before then.

    Efforts to reach the club Chairman, Tijani Babaginda to make some clarifications on the matter proved abortive as his two telephone lines were switched off.

  • FC Taraba, FA chairman disagree over crisis claim

    FC Taraba, FA chairman disagree over crisis claim

    These are not the best times for Taraba Football Club as the crisis rocking the Nigeria Premier League side seems to be getting worse.

    The Taraba State permanent secretary in the ministry of social, youth and sports in the state, Hussaini Modibo, who is intensifying effort to take charge of the running of the club, is locked in a battle with the management of the team headed by former international, Tijani Babangida.

    NationSport gathered that the situation has become frustrating for the players, management and technical officials as they watch helplessly while the permanent secretary, who also doubles as the state’s Football Association (FA) chairman, dictates the day-to-day running of the club without recourse to the management.

    It was learnt that the condition in the club has become terrible as the management of the club under the leadership of Tijani Babangida has been starved of funds to the extent that players, management and technical officials have not received their salaries for five months. Apart from the salary, they are also hardly paid their allowances.

    However, Modibo stated that there was no crisis in the team as the management reports to the FA, which he heads. He stated that Babangida is a consultant to the team and the chairman of the club remains the Taraba State commissioner for sports.

    He stated that the FA and the sports ministry have been behind the success of Taraba FC and wondered why anyone would think that there is a power tussle at the club. “For the sake of clarification, Babangida is a consultant to the team and the commissioner for sports is the chairman of the club,” Modibo said.

    He called on football stakeholders in the state to rally round the team and stop fomenting crises that could tear the club apart. What we should be doing now is to see how the team retains its Premier League status.

    “I guess this is the handiwork of those who do not want the team to progress,” the FA boss added.

  • Giwa shock FC Taraba

    Giwa shock FC Taraba

    Giwa FC continued their rise up the Nigerian Premier League table with a 3-0 thumping of visiting FC Taraba.

    It took Giwa 40 minutes to break down a resilient Taraba defence and it was controversially from the spot.

    Mohammed Saleh stepped up to put the home side one goal up, after an infringement led to a penalty being awarded, which was heavily contested by players from the visiting team.

    Shortly before the half time whistle another penalty was awarded to the home team and Mohammed Saleh converted it to grab his brace but only after FC Taraba threatened to abandon the game in protest.

    Upon resumption for the second half, Taraba’s quest to pull a goal back appeared laid back as the host went in search of a goal to put the game beyond their reach. However, two minutes from the final whistle, Giwa sealed the points,courtesy of a goal from Shuaibu Ibrahim.

    The 3-0 scoreline can’t be viewed as a fair reflection of Giwa’s dominace but Taraba will feel hard done by the two questionable penalties awarded against them.

  • FC Taraba players commence indefinite strike

    FC Taraba players commence indefinite strike

    • Players protest non payment of 4 months salaries, 11 match bonuses

    Premier League side, FC Taraba players have on Thursday begun indefinite strike to press home the non payment of their four months salaries and 11 match bonuses.

    The players didn’t come out for training and have threatened not to honour any training session until their demand is addressed.

    SportingLife was told that the major problem of the new Premier League entrants is the Taraba State Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports who has hijacked all the structure of the state owned teams including standing in the way of the money released for the club’s upkeep form the state government.

    An impeccable source also told SportingLife that the General Manager of the club, Tijani Babangida who does the day-to-day running of the club does not have full power to do so with the Permanent Secretary allegedly serving as the clog in the wheel of progress of the club.

    The players have asserted to SportingLife that they won’t report for training and won’t also honour any of their league matches again starting with the weekend home class with Kano Pillars at the Jolly Nyame Stadium, Jalingo.

    The players stated that they have been playing on empty stomach for some time now and won’t want to die in the pitch for no just cause.

    The Jalingo side are 15th with 32 points from 25 matches ahead of this weekend tie against the Sai Masu Gida.

  • … As Eze savours victory

    … As Eze savours victory

    By Rasaq Oboirien

    Nembe City’s lone goal scorer against FC Taraba on Match Day12 of the Globacom Premier League, John Eze has said he was happy to have got the goal that earned the team’s first victory in the league.

    The Bayelsa based team were whitewashed 6 – 0  by Gombe United at the Pantami Stadium on matchday 11 before earning a hard fought 1 – 0 victory over FC Taraba at the Krisdera Hotel Stadium.

    Eze drove in a well taken freekick outside the 18 yard box which beat Richard Ocheayi in goal for Fc Taraba.

    “I am happy and excited to have got the goal that secuerd three maximum points for my team,” Eze told SportingLife.

    “I want to keep doing my best for my team week-in-week-out. Every player’s joy is to keep playing well and scoring goals, I believe with this goal more will come from me.

    “My focus now is our next game against Kaduna United which I am confident we will get the three points at stake. We are ready and well prepared because we have to start getting the right results.

    “Every game is important in the League now, I am sure we will beat the drop at the end of the current season,” Eze said.

  • Sunshine’s injured trio to miss FC Taraba tie

    Sunshine’s injured trio to miss FC Taraba tie

    Sunshine Stars’ head coach, Henry Abiodun has confirmed that the Akure Gunners may play their Glo Premier League Week 8 tie against FC Taraba without three of their regular players who are yet to fully recover from niggling injuries.

    The players: Paul Amobi, Ikenna Paul and Dayo Ojo were unavailable when the Akure side lost 0-1 to Abia Warriors in a league tie over the weekend and are still struggling to be fit ahead of the visit of the troubled FC Taraba today.

    Abiodun said they have looked beyond their away loss to Abia Warriors as they prepare for their home duel with FC Taraba today at the Akure Township Stadium and are expecting a favourable win.

    The head coach affirmed that his players had more than enough opportunities to get something out of the encounter with Abia Warriors but that their inability to take their chances resulted in the loss.

    Coach Abiodun beckoned on their fans to come all out to support Sunshine against FC Taraba stating that there was no need to press the panic button yet with the Akure Gunners still having a game at hand against Giwa FC. The club has also played more away games this season than they have at home.

    “We lost the game at Umuahia to many factors including injuries to some of our key players, bad pitch and ill luck. We had chances to bury our hosts but we were undone by poor marksmanship. The pitch did not allow us to play our normal passing game too. The game at Umuahia is out of the picture we want our fans to support us as we play against FC Taraba on Wednesday.

    “There is no need for us to be afraid. We have only played two home games this season and we have picked two away points. We are not doing badly at all. We still have a game at hand against Giwa FC. If we win these two games we will be up the league log,” Abiodun said.

    Sunshine are on six points from six matches and they are placed 18th on the league table.

  • Babangida gets two more years

    Babangida gets two more years

    Former Super Eagles winger, Tijani Babangida has been given a fresh two years’ contract to lead FC Taraba by the acting governor of Taraba State.

    The former Nigeria International, whose contract expired after leading the team to secure promotion to the Nigeria Glo Premier League, did not relent in taking charge of the team even while waiting for his contract to be renewed.

    A delighted Babangida expressed gratitude to the acting governor, Garba Umar for having the confidence to give him a two-year contract extension to lead FC Taraba. He promised not to disappoint the governor and good people of the state in the task of leading the team to doing well in the Glo Nigeria Premier League.

    The club’s media officer, Martin Odiete, said the Jalingo-based team has been putting finishing touches to their preparations ahead of the Glo Premier League.

    “The team recently played a friendly match with Gombe United in Gombe which forced us to a one-all draw. We’ve also played several other friendly matches with local club sides in the state,” Odiete said.

    FC Taraba will be playing their first match in the Glo Nigeria Premier League at home against Nasarawa FC and Babangida has assured that the team will definitely give a good account of themselves in their first season in the league.