Plateau United Football Club of Jos (usually known as Plateau United) is a Nigerian professional football (soccer) club based in Jos, that competes in the Nigerian Professional Football League. Before 1991, they were known as the JIB Strikers FC.[2] The name "Plateau United" was the former name of their cross-town rivals Mighty Jets.[3]

Plateau United FC
Full namePlateau United Football Club of Jos
Founded1975; 49 years ago (1975)
GroundNew Jos Stadium
Jos, Nigeria
Capacity60,000
LeagueNigeria Professional Football League
2023–24Nigeria Professional Football League, 5th of 20 [1]

History

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Plateau United were founded in 1975 as JIB Strikers FC.[4]

Plateau United won their first major silverware in 1999, a 1-0 Nigeria Cup final victory over Iwuanyanwu Nationale on a goal by Donatus Iloka.[5] They had lost in the final in 1993 and 1998. They made their continental debut in 2000, but were eliminated after their first tie.[4]

They were promoted to the Nigeria Premier League for the 2010–11 season by winning on the last day against Mighty Jets, but were relegated the next year on the last day. They were promoted to the top league on the last day of the 2015 season.[6]

In 2013, their feeder team were one of four clubs suspended, pending an investigation into their 79–0 victory over Akurba FC.[7] The four clubs were accused of match-fixing to advance into the professional league.[8] On 22 July 2013, Plateau Feeders, Akurba FC, Police Machine FC and Bubayaro FC were each banned for 10 years, with the players and officials in each game banned for life.[9]

Plateau United won the Nigerian Professional Football League for the first time in 2017, led by coach Kennedy Boboye.[10][11]

Honors

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Domestic

2017[10]
2020–21 Top of the table when league was stopped due to COVID19
1999
Runners-up: 1993, 1998

Preseason/Friendly

2021

Performance in CAF competitions

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2000  – First Round

2020/21, 2022/23

2022/23

Current team

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As of 12 February 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 MF   NGA Charles Henlong
3 DF   NGA Daniel Itodo (captain)
4 MF   NGA Muhammad Zulkifilu
5 DF   NGA Nwaeze Christopher
7 FW   NGA Reuben Bala
8 FW   NGA Sunday Anthony
12 GK   NGA Chinedu Anozie
13 MF   NGA Eneji Moses Peter
14 MF   NGA Udeh Tochukwu
15 DF   NGA Abdullahi Mustafa
16 MF   NGA Nenrot Silas
18 FW   NGA Izuchukwu Chimezie
19 MF   NGA Haggai Katoh
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW   NGA Mustapha Ibrahim
21 GK   NGA Ayeleso Suraj
24 DF   NGA Austin Opara
25 FW   NGA Josiah Emmanuel
34 DF   NGA Ifeanyi Onyebuchi

Notable players

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References

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  1. ^ "NPFL 2023/2024 standings - overall, home/away standings". Flashscore. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  2. ^ "Nigeria 1991". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  3. ^ "[General] Plateau governor sues Yar'Adua over Jos crisis".
  4. ^ a b "ANALYSIS: Will Nigeria Premier League crown return to Jos after 45 years? - Premium Times Nigeria". August 8, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. ^ "Plateau United dethrone Rangers". 10 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. ^ "MFM FC, Plateau United gain promotion to Nigeria Professional Football League — Goal.com". 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Nigerian clubs suspended after 'scandalous' scorelines". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  8. ^ "Life ban for Nigerians in football match-fixing scandal". Arab News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  9. ^ "CEOAfrica :: Nigerian Football Federation Banned Players and Officials for Life over Match-Fixing :: Africa Online News Portal". www.ceoafrica.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  10. ^ a b "Plateau United wins Nigerian Professional Football League". 9 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  11. ^ "NPFL: Plateau United target history". 5 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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