By China Acheru

This is not a joke but it is now four years and one week to the day a record was broken in Nigerian and maybe world football as seventy nine goals were scored in a single league game.

In fact one hundred and forty six goals were scored across two games.

I remember that encounter so well as I had just started working in a new radio station and that story broke just in the nick of time.

When I first heard that so many goals were scored in two league games some questions ran through my mind and I was asking how you can score that many goals in 90 minutes?

Wasn’t the ball passed? Didn’t you at least hold on to the ball before your opponents won it and scored? What really happened? So I began my investigations.

But what really happened on the day?

There were four teams in one of eight groups in the Nigeria Amatuer League Division 4 play-offs, which was the 6th tier of domestic football in the country.

The teams, Police Machine FC of Yola, Bubayero FC from Gombe, Plateau United Feeders and Akurba FC of Nasarawa had played two rounds of games.

By the final day, Police Machine and Plateau United Feeders had six points each and both needed to win their final game to finish leaders on points and goals difference to qualify for the next division.

Now, this was where the drama began.

The opponents of Police Machine, Bubayero FC and the opponents of Plateau United, Akurba FC did not stand a chance and were compromised by their opponents to throw the games.

The Nigeria Football Federation did their best to avoid a match fixing situation by having both games played simultaneously, one at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium and the other at the games village, but each team had an agent at the other venue to brief his team on what was going on so they know the number of goals they had to score.

Bauchi based sports journalist, Joshua Tekidek watched one of the games and he told NaijaFootball247.com that it was a complete mess.

“At the end of the first half, Plateau United led 7-0 while Police Machine led 6-0,” Tekidek told NaijaFootball247.com.

So it had to be mind blowing that Plateau United scored 72 goals in a 45 minute 2nd half while Police Machine got 61 goals in the second half so how did that happen?

“Both of them needed to win and score more than the other for a better goals difference so when at half time, their agents in each ground sent messages on the score lines, they each needed to score more.

“They started scoring goals. Sometimes the defenders would just pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, he opens his legs and it will be a goal. It was very funny,” Tekidek said.

“The match coordinator, Maiyaki was so angry that he got the police to arrest players of both teams but they all ran away.”

The Nigeria Football Federation thereafter banned players and officials of all for teams for ten years as well as the clubs, but my honest thought was that they should have sanctioned the referees because there was just no way you could score 72 goals in 45 minutes without help from the referee to extend the half.

I also thought the players and officials of both teams should have been arrested including the fans that stayed for ninety minutes to watch that mess.

Two years after that incident, the coach of the Plateau United Feeders team, Victor Wickadason was appointed head coach of Plateau United FC but after outcry from the country’s meda citing that he had previously been banned for life, his club was prompted to action and they terminated his appointment.

However, he had served as assistant coach of Plateau United unnoticed for at least a year before then.

http://www.naijafootball247.com/2017/07/how-nigerian-club-scored-79-goals-in.html?spref=tw

Below is the list of the players and officials who brought Nigerian football to shame in July 2013.

Names of banned players and coaches in that scandal

Akurba United FC, Lafia
Bahira Usman, Bala Dio, Musa Ahmad, Abba Musa, Usman Babaji, Arijide Said Timothy, Sabo Ahmed, Kasimu Yunusa, Alkama Hussieni, Shehu Abubakar, Almakura Danladi, James Mathias, Arubakar Labaran, Yahaja Adamu.
Team Officials

Osas Onuegbi-I (Chief Coach), Musa Abdullahi (Assistantcoach), Tanko Usman (Secretary)

Plateau United Feeders

Kenneth Ilo, Jacob Bulus, Emmanuel Mathew, Ezekiel Damiri, Paul Danjuma, Mathew Luka, Tenton Yamen, Katura Christopher, Kika James, John David, Ugochukwu Kingsley, Safiyanu Idris, Daform Pam, Alexanda Longs, Joseph Dokatri, Laila Ibrahim, Sani Mohammed, Solomon Effom.

Team Officials
Victor Wikadson (Chief Coach), Sani Mohammed (Assistant Coach), John Babo (Assistant Coach ), Shuaibu Usman (Welfare), Garba Mohammed (Masseaur), Babawo Sambo (Curator), Danladi Bala (Team Manager)

Match Officials
Olu Okeneye (Match Commissioner), Mohammed Mohammed (Center Referee), S. Chiroma (Assistant Ref 1), A. Shina (Asst Ref 2), H. Murtala (Reserved Ref).

Bubayero FC, Gombe
Sudais Mohammed , Isah Mohammed, Williams Bulus, Abdulwahab Salisu, Ibrahim Jalo Famous, Mubarak Dauda, Abdulraman Abubai, Musa Adamu, Abdullah I Au Bakar, Stanley Wirba, Abdulganiu Samaila, Musa Ibrahim, Waziri Aliyu, Ephram Alizo, Johny Mark, Umar Yahoya

Team Officials
Chief Coach, Bala Yahari, Usman Abubakar( Assistant Coach), Umar Bapar (Team Manager)

Police Machine FC, Yola

Samuel Dair Remi, Linison John, Enema Samson, Emmanuelgrengory, Abubakar Mustapha, Johnson Mike, Lazarus Ahmed, Bala Rabiu, Gabriel Emmanuel, Dahiru Mohammed, Bashir Yahaya, John Salisu, Baffa Abubakar, Ibrahim Hamman, Danjuma Friday, Samaila Adamu, Ahmed Kabiru, Harison Smart
Team Officials
Tukur Ali (Chief Coach), Gambo Yakubu (Technical Adviser), John Felix (Deputy Technical Adviser), Bigman Emmanuel (Training Officer), Danladi Musa


ALL THE RESULTS:

MD1
Plateau Feeder FC 2-0 Bubayaro
Akurba 0-2 Police Machine

MD2
Plateau Utd Feeders 0-0 Police Machine
Bubayaro FC 0-0 Akurba FC

MD3
Police Machine 67-0 Bubayaro
Plateau United Feeders 79-0 Akurba FC

From the results you will see that between Plateau United and Police Machine FC, only four goals were scored in four games.

All of a sudden, one hundred and forty six were scored in another two.


Cheers and have a great day.

Lmao!
Everyone in those stadium ought to be arrested- thats corruption

Chai

Chaiii
������ this 1 pass match fixing oooo
Tuila for the players

I know the story and I know all the players.