# Kano Pillars F.C.

Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Kano, northwestern Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first-tier division in Nigerian football. They play their home games at Sani Abacha Stadium.
Kano Pillars FC was founded in 1990, the year the professional association football league started in Nigeria, and it is also among the oldest clubs in Nigerian history alongside clubs likeBendel Insurance, Shooting Stars, and Enugu Rangers. It was an amalgamation of three amateur clubs in Kano State.
Kano Pillars Football Club is the most popular Nigerian Premier League club in Nigeria. The Pillars drew an average home attendance of 8,894 in the 2023-24 edition of the NPFL, the 2nd highest in the league.

## History

Founded in 1990, by Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, former chairman of Nigeria Football Association and former sports commissioner of Kano, from the combination of WRECA FC, Kano Golden Stars and Bank of the North FC, Kano Pillars achieved outstanding success by winning the 2007–08 Nigerian Premier League. Kano Pillars produced players like Abiodun Baruwa who has since played for Swiss, Austrian, Welsh and British Clubs and Sani Kaita who later plays for Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Another Prominent player is Ahmed Garba 'Yaro Yaro' who later plays for AB in Denmark and a notable player from Kano Pillars FC is Ahmed Musa who played for Leicester City in the English Premier league after joining from CSKA Moscow. It was registered as a limited liability company with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigeria, and then registered with the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) as a professional football club.
In the 2020/2021 NPFL season, Kano Pillars were fined a whopping sum of ₦7,500,000.00 for failing to follow the orders of the LMC and NFF, which prohibited fans from viewing live games in the stadium. Fans disrupted a top table clash between Akwa United and Kano Pillars. The game ended 0–0 after it was concluded the following day.
They were relegated from NPFL on 16 July 2022 following the confirmation of a verdict against them for the deduction of 3 points, despite an appeal which the NFF committee disregarded against their complaint. The verdict on them was a penalty for what their former chairman did to match officials in their encounter with Dakkada FC

### 2009 Champions League

They are also nicknamed "Ahly Killers" as they scored 2 magnificent goals in Egypt and drew with Al Ahly Cairo in Egypt 2–2 and 1–1 in Nigeria, so the Ahly Killers went to the Group stage in the African Champions League on the away goals rule. They made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated against fellow Nigerian team Heartland.

## Achievements

* Nigerian Premier League
       Champions (4): 2007–08, 2011–12, 2013, 2014.
       Runners-up (1): 2009–10.
* Nigerian FA Cup
       Winners (2): 2019, 1953
       Runners-up (2): 1991, 2018.
* Nigerian super cup. 1.winners 2008.
* "'Nigerian super four"'. (runners up)2.

## Performance in CAF competitions

* CAF Champions League: 6 appearances
    Kano Pillars arrival to Ahmadu Bello Stadium for a friendly match.
       2009 – Semi-finals
       2011 – First Round
       2013 – First Round
       2014 – Preliminary Round
       2015 – First Round
       2020 – Preliminary Round
* CAF Confederation Cup: 0 appearance

## Current players

As of 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. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GHA | Ibrahim Iddrisu |
| 2 | DF | NGA | Ali Abdullahi |
| 3 | DF | NGA | Ismaila Nasir |
| 4 | MF | NGA | Shehu Abdullahi |
| 5 | DF | NGA | Abdullahi Musa |
| 6 | MF | NGA | Suleiman Idris |
| 7 | FW | NGA | Ahmed Musa |
| 8 | MF | NGA | Yusuf Maigoro |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Auwalu Ali Malam |
| 10 | MF | NGA | Rabiu Ali (Captain) |
| 11 | FW | NGA | Mustapha Umar |
| 12 | MF | NGA | Aminu Mohammed |
| 14 | DF | NGA | Ibrahim Abubakar |
| 16 | FW | NGA | Mustapha Salisu |
| 18 | MF | NGA | Sani Mubarak |
| 19 | FW | NGA | Ibrahim Mustapha |
| 20 | FW | NGA | Ibrahim Abdullahi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Muhammad Yakubu |
| 23 | DF | NGA | Sani Faisal |
| 24 | MF | NGA | Aminu Sani |
| 25 | MF | NGA | Joshua Dua |
| 26 | DF | NGA | Habibu Yakubu |
| 27 | DF | NGA | Ibrahim Nura |
| 28 | FW | NGA | Yusuf Abdullahi |
| 29 | MF | NGA | Mubarak Lawan |
| 30 | DF | NGA | Fahad Usman |
| 31 | GK | NGA | Mohammed Galadima |
| 33 | GK | NGA | Muttaka Musa |
| 34 | DF | NGA | Attairu Mushinu |
| 36 | MF | NGA | Muhammed Usman |
| 38 | FW | NGA | Umar Shehu |
| 40 | FW | NGA | Abba Adam |

### Staff
#### Head Coach/Technical Adviser

* Yaseer Sani Salisu El, Hakimee

#### Chairman

* Babangida Umar Little

#### general manager

* Umar Babangida (Little)

#### General Coordinator

* Salisu Yaro

#### Kit Manager

* Habibu Zubair Abubakar

#### Marketing Manager

* Kano Pillars transportation car.brazilian pro

## Notable coaches

* Malik Jabir (2008–) (Technical Adviser)
* Ahmed Pele Abdu
* Ladan Bosso (2011)
* Baba Ganaru
* Kadiri Ikhana (1991), (1997–98), (2007–08), (2016–date)
* Ivo Sajh (2009)
Salisu Yusuf Okey Emordi Evans Ogenyi

## Notable players

* Rabiu Ali
* Ahmed Musa
* Junior Lokosa
* Chinedu Udoji
* Ndubisi Chukunyere
* Yaseer El, Hakimee