Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Kano, North Western part of Nigeria. They play in the first tier division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional Football League. Their home stadium is Sani Abacha Stadium. Kano Pillars FC was founded in 1990, the year in which the professional association football league started in Nigeria. It was an amalgamation of three amateur clubs in Kano State.
History
Founded in 1990, By Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima former chairman Nigeria Football Association and former sport 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. The Kano Pillars drew an average home league attendance of 10,000 in the 2016 league season.
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
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 12 February 2023
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
Sani Lawal Mohammed
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