Rivers United F.C.
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| Nickname(s) | The Pride of Rivers | |
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| Founded | 2016 | |
| Ground | Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria | |
| Capacity | 38,000 | |
| Manager | Stanley Eguma | |
| League | Nigeria Professional Football League | |
| 2021–22 | Nigeria Professional Football League, 1st of 20 (Champions) | |
| Website | Club website | |
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Rivers United Football Club is a professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State that participates in the Nigerian Professional Football League, 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 in Elekahia that has a seating capacity of 30,000.[1]
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 where they defeated a South African opponent to set up a highly anticipated matchup against Enyimba.
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.[2] Sharks were relegated to the First Division in 2015 while Dolphins had barely escaped after a 2–2 draw on the final day.[3] Rivers United' crest contains both a shark and a dolphin as a result of the merge.[4]
Stanley Eguma was appointed Rivers' first coach and led them to a win in their first ever league match, 1–0 over Enyimba.[5]
The club finished second in the 2016 Nigerian Premier League which qualified them for the 2017 CAF Champions League for the first time.[6] A four-goal second-leg win over Mali's AS Bamako with Esosa Igbinoba and Bernard Ovoke each scoring braces put Rivers past the preliminary round.[7] However, they were eliminated by Sudan's Al-Merrikh 4–3 on aggregate in the first round after losing a 3–0 first round lead.[8]
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 beat their nearest challengers, Plateau United 2-1 in Uyo.[9]
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 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[10]
Current squad
As of July 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notes
- ^ "Dolphins, Sharks merged, now Rivers Utd F.C." Vanguard. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Dolphins, Sharks F.C merge to form new club". Pulse Nigeria. 19 February 2016.
- ^ Orevba, Babajide (19 February 2016). "Dolphins, Sharks change name to Rivers United". Legit.ng - Nigeria news.
- ^ "Dolphins renamed Rivers United Football Club | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
- ^ "'We can't lose to Enyimba'- Rivers United coach Stanley Eguma stokes up the fire ahead of must win title cracker this week". Linda Ikeji's Blog. 6 June 2016.
- ^ "CAF clubs competitions draws: North African ties for Rangers, FC Ifeanyi Ubah". 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Rivers United trash Real Bamako". supersport.com.
- ^ Agberebi, James. "CAFCL: Rivers United Blow Big First Leg Lead Vs Al-Merrikh, Crash Out". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ "Rivers United claim maiden NPFL crown after Plateau United lose in Uyo". Nigeria sports news, transfers & gossips. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "Rivers Utd get management team". supersport.com.