Kwara United on Saturday ended the Cinderella run of Abakaliki FC in the President’s Federation Cup final after winning their first title in the oldest cup tournament in the country.
For the 18th time in history, Nigeria’s national cup final was decided by the lottery of penalties, with Kwara United, who emerged victorious, claiming their first-ever major trophy.
The final ended goalless after regulation time and extra time at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, prompting a shootout to determine the 2025 champion. Kwara United triumphed 4-3 in the tense penalty decider.
This latest penalty shootout marked the 18th time since 1983 that the cup final has gone down to spot kicks. The first such instance was 41 years ago when Enugu Rangers edged DIC Bees of Kaduna 5-4 after a 0-0 draw.
Kwara United’s triumph writes them into Nigerian football history as the 33rd different club to win the country’s oldest football competition, previously known as the Challenge Cup and later the FA Cup.
With the victory, Kwara United also secured a continental ticket and will join Abia Warriors in representing Nigeria in the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup.
In the women’s final, defending champions, Rivers Angels, came from behind to win their 10th FA Cup title as they also defeated Nasarawa Amazons 4-2 on penalties.
Amazons had taken a two-goal lead going into the second half, but Rivers came out stronger to end the regulation time 2-2 while going on to triumph in the ensuing penalties.
