| Federation Cup | |
| Founded: | 1942 |
| Number Of Teams: | 74 |
| Current Champions: | El-Kanemi Warriors (3rd title) |
| Most Successful Club: | Shooting Stars FC (8 titles) |
| Current: | 2024 Nigeria Federation Cup |
| Qualifier For: | Nigeria Super Cup CAF Confederation Cup |
The Nigeria Federation Cup (known as the Tingo Cup due to sponsorship reasons) is the main football single-elimination tournament in Nigeria contested by 74 teams, representing the 36 states + 1 FCT of Nigeria. It is the Nigerian domestic cup and the Nigerian equivalent of the FA Cup, Emperor's Cup, Copa do Brasil, Coupe de France, and Hrvatski nogometni kup, among others. The tournament was created in 1945 as the "Governor's Cup",[1] succeeding the War Memorial Challenge Cup that had been limited to teams from Lagos.
The tournament, as the Governor's Cup, was initially dominated by Lagosian teams, later it was known as the Nigeria FA Cup from (1954–1959), Nigeria Challenge Cup (1960–1998), Coca-Cola FA Cup (1999–2008) and Nigeria Federation Cup (2009–2016). Between 2017 and 2022, the competition was sponsored by the AITEO group and known as the AITEO Cup including the women's tournament.[2]
On 8 August 2021, Bayelsa became the first state to have two clubs win the FA cup in the men's and women's editions in the same year.[3] Shooting Stars are the most successful club, having won the competition eight times, followed by the defunct Lagos Railways with 7 titles and Enugu Rangers with six titles.
El-Kanemi Warriors are the current champions, with the 2024 tournament victory giving them their third Nigeria FA Cup title.
The competition is a single elimination knockout tournament featuring 74 teams from the 36 states + 1 FCT in Nigeria. All clubs qualify via their states cup championships, the winners and runners-up of each state cup championship qualifies for the tournament regardless of their position at the Nigerian football league system. A 'Rookie' play-off will be held for the 20 lowest ranked clubs, the 10 winners then joins the remaining 54 at the first round. All matches are held at neutral venues.
The winner qualifies automatically for the next season's CAF Confederation Cup or the runners-up if the winner had already qualified for a CAF club competition based on league's position.
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| War Memorial Challenge Cup | ||||
| 1942 | ZAC Bombers | 1–0 | Services | |
| 1943 | Lagos Marine | 3–2 | RAF | |
| 1944 | Lagos Railways | 2–0 | Marine | |
| 1945 | Lagos Railways | 1–1 (4–1) | Lagos United | |
| Governors Cup | ||||
| 1945 | Marine | 1–0 | Corinthians | |
| 1946 | Lagos Railways | 3–1 | Port Harcourt FC | |
| 1947 | Marine | 3–1 | Lagos Railways | |
| 1948 | Lagos Railways | 1–0 | Warri | |
| 1949 | Lagos Railways | 3–0 | Port Harcourt FC | |
| 1950 | Lagos UAC | 3–2 | Port Harcourt FC | |
| 1951 | Lagos Railways | 3–2 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1952 | Lagos PAN Bank | 6–0 | Warri | |
| 1953 | Kano Pillars F.C. | 2–1 | Lagos Dynamos | |
| FA Cup | ||||
| 1954 | St. Patrick's College (Calabar) | 3–0 | Kano Pillars F.C. | |
| 1955 | Port Harcourt FC | 4–1 | Warri | |
| 1956 | Lagos Railways | 3–1 | Warri | |
| 1957 | Lagos Railways | 5–1 | Zaria | |
| 1958 | Port Harcourt FC | 6–0 | Federal United | |
| 1959 | Ibadan Lions | 1–0 | Police | |
| Challenge Cup | ||||
| 1960 | Lagos ECN | 5–2 | Ibadan Lions | |
| 1961 | Ibadan Lions | 1–0 | Lagos UAC | |
| 1962 | Police | 1–0 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1963 | Port Harcourt FC | 1–0 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1964 | Lagos Railways | 3–1 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1965 | Lagos ECN | 3–1 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1966 | Ibadan Lions | w/o | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1967 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | 3–1 | Jos Plateau Highlanders (Jos) | |
| 1968 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | 3–1 (replay) | Plateau United | |
| 1969 | Ibadan Lions | 5–1 | Warri | |
| 1970 | Lagos ECN | 3–1 | Mighty Jets (Jos) | |
| 1971 | WNDC Ibadan | 2–1 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 1972 | Bendel Insurance (Benin City) | 2–2 (3–2 replay) | Mighty Jets (Jos) | |
| 1973 | ||||
| 1974 | Enugu Rangers | 2–0 | Mighty Jets (Jos) | |
| 1975 | Enugu Rangers | 1–0 | Shooting Stars FC (Ibadan) | |
| 1976 | Enugu Rangers | 2–0 | Alyufsalam Rocks (Ilorin) | |
| 1977 | Shooting Stars FC (Ibadan) | 2–0 | Racca Rovers | |
| 1978 | Bendel Insurance | 3–0 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 1979 | Shooting Stars FC (Ibadan) | 2–0 | Sharks FC (Port Harcourt) | |
| 1980 | Bendel Insurance (Benin City) | 1–0 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | |
| 1981 | Enugu Rangers | 2–0 | Bendel Insurance (Benin City) | |
| 1982 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | 4–1 | Niger Tornadoes (Minna) | |
| 1983 | Enugu Rangers | 0–0 | DIC Bees (Kaduna) | |
| 1984 | Leventis United (Ibadan) | 1–0 | Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | |
| 1985 | Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | 0–0 | BCC Lions (Gboko) | |
| 1986 | Leventis United (Ibadan) | 1–0 | Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | |
| 1987 | Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | 1–1 | Ranchers Bees | |
| 1988 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale (Owerri) | 3–0 | Flash Flamingoes | |
| 1989 | BCC Lions (Gboko) | 1–0 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale (Owerri) | |
| 1990 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | 0–0 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 1991 | El-Kanemi Warriors (Maiduguri) | 3–2 | Kano Pillars F.C. | |
| 1992 | El-Kanemi Warriors (Maiduguri) | 1–0 | Stationery Stores (Lagos) | |
| 1993 | BCC Lions (Gboko) | 1–0 | Plateau United (Jos) | |
| 1994 | BCC Lions (Gboko) | 1–0 | Julius Berger FC (Lagos) | |
| 1995 | Shooting Stars FC (Ibadan) | 2–0 | Katsina United | |
| 1996 | Julius Berger FC (Lagos) | 1–0 (a.p.) | Katsina United | |
| 1997 | BCC Lions (Gboko) | 1–0 | Katsina United | |
| 1998 | Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) | 0-0 | Plateau United (Jos) | |
| Coca-Cola FA Cup | ||||
| 1999 | Plateau United (Jos) | 1–0 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale (Owerri) | |
| 2000 | Niger Tornadoes (Minna) | 1–0 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 2001 | Dolphin FC (Port Harcourt) | 2–0 | El-Kanemi Warriors (Maiduguri) | |
| 2002 | Julius Berger FC (Lagos) | 3–0 | Yobe Desert Stars (Damaturu) | |
| 2003 | Lobi Stars (Makurdi) | 2–0 | Sharks FC (Port Harcourt) | |
| 2004 | Dolphin FC (Port Harcourt) | 1–0 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 2005 | Enyimba FC (Aba) | 1–1 | Lobi Stars (Makurdi) | |
| 2006 | Dolphin FC (Port Harcourt) | 2-2 | ||
| 2007 | Dolphin FC (Port Harcourt) | 1–1 | ||
| 2008 | Ocean Boys FC (Brass) | 2–2 | ||
| Federation Cup | ||||
| 2009 | Enyimba FC (Aba) | 1–0 | Sharks FC (Port Harcourt) | |
| 2010 | Kaduna United F.C. | 3–3 | Enyimba FC (Aba) | |
| 2011 | Heartland F.C. | 1–0 | Enyimba FC (Aba) | |
| 2012 | Heartland F.C. | 2–1 | Lobi Stars | |
| 2013 | Enyimba F.C. | 2–2 | Warri Wolves | |
| 2014 | Enyimba FC | 2–1 | Dolphins FC (Port Harcourt) | |
| 2015 | Akwa United F.C. | 2–1 | Lobi Stars | |
| 2016 | Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. | 0–0 | Nasarawa United F.C.[4] | |
| 2017 | Akwa United F.C. (Uyo) | 0–0 | Niger Tornadoes F.C. (Minna)[5] | |
| 2018 | Enugu Rangers | 3–3 | Kano Pillars (Kano)[6] | |
| 2019 | Kano Pillars (Kano) | 0–0 | Niger Tornadoes F.C. (Minna) | |
| 2020 | ||||
| 2021 | Bayelsa United (Yenagoa) | 2–2 | Nasarawa United (Lafia) | |
| 2022 | ||||
| 2023 | Bendel Insurance | 1–0 | Enugu Rangers | |
| 2024 | El-Kanemi Warriors | 2–0 | Abia Warriors | |
| Club | Titles | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting Stars FC (Ibadan) [includes Ibadan Lions and WNDC] | align=center | 8 | |
| Lagos Railways (Lagos) | align=center | 8 | |
| Enugu Rangers | align=center | 6 | |
| Bendel Insurance (Benin City) | align=center | 4 | |
| BCC Lions (Gboko) | align=center | 4 | |
| Dolphins FC [formerly known as Eagle Cement] | align=center | 4 | |
| Stationery Stores (Lagos) | align=center | 4 | |
| Enyimba FC (Aba) | align=center | 4 | |
| El-Kanemi Warriors (Maiduguri) | align=center | 3 | |
| Iwuanyanwu Nationale/Heartland (Owerri) | align=center | 3 | |
| Lagos ECN (Lagos) (later renamed NEPA) | align=center | 3 | |
| Port Harcourt FC | align=center | 3 | |
| Kano Pillars F.C. (Kano) | align=center | 2 | |
| Abiola Babes (Abeokuta) | align=center | 2 | |
| align=center | 2 | ||
| Julius Berger FC (Lagos) | align=center | 2 | |
| Leventis United (Ibadan) | align=center | 2 | |
| Marine | align=center | 2 | |
| Calabar | align=center | 1 | |
| Ifeanyi Ubah (Nnewi) | align=center | 1 | |
| Kaduna United (Kaduna) | align=center | 1 | |
| Lagos PAN Bank (Lagos) | align=center | 1 | |
| Lagos UAC (Lagos) | align=center | 1 | |
| Lobi Stars (Makurdi) | align=center | 1 | |
| Niger Tornadoes (Minna) | align=center | 1 | |
| Ocean Boys FC (Brass) | align=center | 1 | |
| Plateau United (Jos) | align=center | 1 | |
| Police (Lagos) | align=center | 1 | |
| Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) | align=center | 1 | |
| Bayelsa United (Yenagoa) | align=center | 1 |