Soccer development in Sapele, Delta State from 1980 to date
The development of football in Sapele continued into the late 1980s when some notable youth clubs were formed.
One such club was the KB Stars, which was formed in 1988 and was solely funded by KB boss Omatseye. Some notable players to come from the KB Stars included: Andrew Aikomogbe, Destiny Iyonu (final), Oke Mariere, Femi Coker, and Jerome Ezeoba. Another youth club that gained prominence at that time was the Pedro Estrellas Soccer Club.
It came into existence in 1988 and produced artists such as: Daniel Odedede, Jerome, Ike Ibe and Elvis Eruje. He was under the tutelage of coach Daniel Evumena, former head coach of Falconet and Falcons of Nigeria.
The Golden Stars soccer club was another youth club that rose to prominence in 1988. One notable player to come from their rank was Erivona Idahosa.
Eventually, the Athletico De Miren soccer club became a household name in the beautiful city of Sapele during the heyday of grassroots soccer (1986-1995), winning some national laurels.
They had some talented football players like Godwin Ovieghara, Emmanuel Ovieghara, Martins Ewerebo and Paul Akpokere in their ranks.
The club continued to exist until 1995, when Mr. Larry Kubeinje came to Sapele to make football known and thus began the birth of Urhiapele FC.
In 1996, Urhiapele FC won the Delta State League to become the first club from Sapele to win the trophy since its inception.
The club was able to achieve this remarkable feat as a result of a strong technical bench which was later piloted by manager Solomon Ovieghara and the efforts of enterprising players like Faith Igbayo, Elvis Eruje, Ike Ibe, Godwin Ovieghara, Erivona Idahosa, Cyril Emujuagbe. and a host of others.
Immediately after the club won the state league, more than 18 of its players got a professional contract with some Pro League teams in Nigeria.
In 2008, after Delta United of Warri’s relegation from the Pro to the Amateur division, Sapele was given a slot to play in the Amateur division, and this slot was taken over by Okpe United FC of Sapele, which remains to this day. being the only amateur football club. in Sapeli.
Mention should be made of a few other youth teams that emerged in the 1980s/early 1990s, but never really gained much prominence. At the top of the list was Emeka United, then based in Amukpe sapele and under the tutelage of manager Chikodi Onuoha and John Okokoyo. The team brought enterprising forward, Freeborn Itejeri, into the spotlight, who later joined KB Stars and eventually became a key member of the Aba Millionaire (Enyimba FC) club in the 2004-2006 seasons.
However, it is sad to note that all of Sapele’s youth clubs have faded into oblivion due to lack of patronage from both the public and private sectors and serious administrative failures.
On a bright note, Sapele has the enviable reputation of producing the only FIFA-badged referee in the then Bendel estate in the person of FIFA’s Daniel Aghante (Black Arrow).
A state-of-the-art 5,000-seat stadium is still under construction and, when completed, will further boost the development of soccer not only in Sapele, but throughout the state.