Rivers United Football Club is a Nigerian 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 was the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, formerly Liberation Stadium, in Elekahia that has a seating capacity of 30,000. They moved to the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in 2020. The stadium, renovated in 2020, has a capacity of 40,000. There is also a female team, Rivers Angels F.C., which is one of the best in Nigeria and Africa.

Rivers United FC has remained in the top flight since its first season. In the 2020-2021 CAF Confederation Cup season, Rivers defeated South African opponent Bloemfontein Celtic home and away to set up a highly anticipated matchup against neighbors Enyimba in the final qualifying round for a spot in the group stage. They lost the tie on penalties after a 1–1 aggregate scoreline

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 experiencing financial difficulty. Sharks were relegated to the First Division in 2015 while Dolphins had barely escaped relegation after drawing their final match. Rivers United's crest contains both a shark and a dolphin as a result of the merge.

Stanley Eguma was appointed coach and led them to a win in their first league match, 1–0 over Enyimba.

The club finished second in the 2016 Nigerian Premier League which qualified them for the 2017 CAF Champions League for the first time. A four-goal second-leg win over Mali's AS Bamako with Esosa Igbinoba and Bernard Ovoke each scoring a brace put Rivers past the preliminary round. 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.

2021–22: Nigerian Professional League Champions

Enyinnaya Godswill in a jersey of Rivers United

On 25 June 2022, Rivers United won their first Nigeria Professional Football League title with four games to spare after Akwa United beat their nearest challengers, Plateau United 2–1 in Uyo.

Rivers United ended the season with 77 points, breaking the league record of 73 points in a season.

The 2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football 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.

Rivers united players and officials were awarded $20,000 each by the Rivers state government for their league triumph in 2022 and were promised another US$40,000 if they qualify for the 2022-2023 Caf champions league group stage.

Honours

Domestic

Performance in CAF competitions

2017 – First Round 2022 – second Round 2022–23 – Second Round

2017 – Group stage 2020–21 – Play-off round 2021–22 – Play-off round 2022–23 – Quarter Finals

Staff

Head coach

Assistant coach

Acting General Manager

  • Okey Kpalukwu

Welfare Secretary

  • Albert Chinwo

Media officer

  • Mayuku Charles

Current squad

Updated 8 February 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK NGA Abiodun Akande 2 DF NGA Muyiwa Fehintola 3 DF GHA Emmanuel Ampiah 4 DF NGA John Uche Akubueze 5 DF NGA Ebedebiri Endurance 6 DF NGA Enyinnaya Godswill 7 FW NGA Suleiman Abba 8 MF NGA Ukeme Williams 9 FW LBR Mark Gibson 10 FW NGA Alex Oyowah 11 MF NGA Shedrack Asiegbu 12 FW LBR Albert Korvah 13 MF NGA Adeleke Adekunle 14 MF NGA Paul Onobi 16 GK NGA Victor Soshima 17 MF GHA Farouk MohammedNo. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF NGA Chiamaka Madu 19 DF NGA Paul Odeh 20 MF NGA Joseph Onoja 21 GK GHA Mutawakilu Seidu 23 MF GHA Paul Acquah 25 MF NGA Augustine Okejepha 26 FW CIV Bernard Yao Kouassi 27 FW GHA Samuel Antwi 28 FW NGA Nwangwa Nyima (Captain) 29 FW NGA Ossy Martins 30 FW NGA Chibuzor Ezeh 31 DF NGA Azeez Godswill 32 FW NGA Andy Okpe 33 DF NGA Temple Emekayi 34 GK NGA Osagie Onisodumeya
1GKNGAAbiodun Akande
2DFNGAMuyiwa Fehintola
3DFGHAEmmanuel Ampiah
4DFNGAJohn Uche Akubueze
5DFNGAEbedebiri Endurance
6DFNGAEnyinnaya Godswill
7FWNGASuleiman Abba
8MFNGAUkeme Williams
9FWLBRMark Gibson
10FWNGAAlex Oyowah
11MFNGAShedrack Asiegbu
12FWLBRAlbert Korvah
13MFNGAAdeleke Adekunle
14MFNGAPaul Onobi
16GKNGAVictor Soshima
17MFGHAFarouk Mohammed
No.Pos.NationPlayer
18MFNGAChiamaka Madu
19DFNGAPaul Odeh
20MFNGAJoseph Onoja
21GKGHAMutawakilu Seidu
23MFGHAPaul Acquah
25MFNGAAugustine Okejepha
26FWCIVBernard Yao Kouassi
27FWGHASamuel Antwi
28FWNGANwangwa Nyima (Captain)
29FWNGAOssy Martins
30FWNGAChibuzor Ezeh
31DFNGAAzeez Godswill
32FWNGAAndy Okpe
33DFNGATemple Emekayi
34GKNGAOsagie Onisodumeya

Rivers Angels

Further information: Rivers Angels F.C.

Rivers Angels F.C. (formerly Larry Angels F.C.) is a Nigerian professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. They play in the Nigeria Women Premier League, the top flight division in the female soccer league system in Nigeria.

Notes

External links

  • – current results of Rivers United FC matches