| Full name | Bendel Insurance Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Vipers, The Benin Arsenal | ||
| Founded | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) | ||
| Ground | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Benin City,Nigeria | ||
| Capacity | 12,000[1][2] | ||
| Chairman | Emperor Jarret Tenebe Chairman of Bendel Insurance Football Club, Edo State[3][4] | ||
| Manager | Greg Ikhenoba[5] | ||
| League | Nigeria Premier Football League[6] | ||
| 2024–25 | 5th | ||
Bendel Insurance Football Club is afootball club based inBenin City,Nigeria. The club plays in theNigeria Premier Football League. They were originally known as the Vipers of Benin. They play their home matches atSamuel Ogbemudia Stadium,[7][8] which has a capacity of 12,000. They won the 2023 edition of the Federation Cup after defeating Enugu Rangers 1–0 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on June 21, 2023.
Created by Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, Bendel Insurance was one of the founding members of theNigerian Premier League in 1972.[9]
The team had its first month of the 2007–08 season delayed because of a management dispute over who controlled the team.[10][11] The crisis led to two different clubs claiming the name Insurance. They were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season after finishing in last place, the first relegation from the top level in the team's history.
In August 2008, the ownership crisis was settled and theEdo State government took control. Thus the name officially reverted to Bendel Insurance Football Club.
However, the club's financial problems continued throughout the season. In February 2009, Insurance was banned from using their stadium temporarily because it was not up to league standards. In March, they were one of eight teams threatened with having their participation suspended due to a backlog of debts and fines.[12] Finally, they were exiled toIlorin, North Central Nigeria, for their final home game of the season after crowd trouble in a 1–1 tie againstShooting Stars FC that put an end to their promotion chances. The reason for Bendel Insurance's breakdown was because of the ownership situations.[13]
Bendel Insurance were promoted to the top flight for the 2019 season after spending over ten years in lower divisions.[9] They were relegated to the NNL after just one season. They won promotion back to the NPFL on the penultimate day of the 2022 season.[14]
