Doma United are back to the Nigerian Premier League, thanks to Technical Adviser Najib Mabo who was hired by proprietor Alhaji Suleiman Umar and given a blank cheque and free hand to make it happen. The gaffer is the son of Ismaila Mabo, the only African coach to have advanced to the quarter finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I shed tears for my late father, Coach Ismaila Mabo after the promotion,” Najib said. “My father told me something brely two weeks before he died, that I will excel as a coach. That someday people I’ll believe In me.”
Doma United topped the Northern Conference Group C of the Nigerian National League that included Lobi Stars, Kada Warriors and Mighty Jets, Mabo’s childhood team. The coach moved to Gombe from the Jos team, founded by his father in 1969.
“This is my biggest achievement, so far. And I must credit the proprietor, Alhaji Umar. He invited me over to Gombe after we spoke on phone. At the end of the interview, Alhaji told me that I was the right person for the job. and gave me a free hand. To cap it all, players welfare was not a problem at all,” the coach told me.
Mabo is not sitting back, satisfied with promotion. His target is for the team to earn a continental ticket next season. That is a tall dream but quite achievable. Sister club Gombe United went international over a decade ago but are struggling in the lower cadre.
Najib owes everything he has achieved so far, to his father, Ismaila Mabo, a former Nigerian Junior international who founded Mighty Jets of Jos with his friends, Sam Garba Okoye, Sule Kekere, Gabriel Babalola, Layiwola Olagbemiro,, Mathew Atuegbu and brother, Uba Junior.
What the senior Mabo could not win at home with Jets, he achieved globally with the senior women’s nation team, Super Falcons. After qualifying for the quarter finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, in 1999, he remained relevant in Africa and even with a Team B, picked All Africa Games gold at Abuja 2003.
Sadly, the record making Super Falcons was ignored more than two decades later when the 1999 team was honoured in Lagos at the Aiteo/NFF Awards. Her girls were invited from all over the world but the man who led them to the United States, was left out.
I remember Mabo’s words when I called him to find out what went wrong after the NFF said they could not reach the former Central defender. “Emeka, they have forgotten me. Thank you for this call. I am still alive, but they have forgotten me”.
That was a man that led the Super Falcons to their first World Cup victory, at USA 1999. In previous outings, the Nigerian girls were beaten silly by their opponents. Mabo changed all that. North Korea and Denmark lost maximum points.
It would be difficult to forget Ismaila Mabo and his family. Najib said : “In Jos we are known as the Football Factory. My father hailed from the Nakande family. Uba Junior was his younger brother, same father and mother. We produced Tijani Salihu, Aminu Nakande Brazil, Bala Mohammed Brown, Murtala Mohammed, Batande Ali Pele and Salisu Nakande”.
Salisu Nakande, won the inaugural FIFA Under 16 World Championships with the Golden Eaglets, in 1985. He was one of the two Jos Boys in the squad. The other was Sanni Adamu. Nakande is presently, the Assistant General Manager of Mighty Jets.
Jos has produced prominent soccer families. There were the five Atuegbu Brothers of Mathew, Nicholas, Andrew, Aloysius and Fidelis. Their father, Richard also played in Jos for the Tin Miners while four of his children settled for Jets. Fidelis excelled at Standard, the Pen Power Boys.
The Dankaro Brothers were also Jos based. Left back, John, was a member of the 1949 UK Tourists team. Sunday rose to become Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association. David proceed to the United Kingdom to play. The Dankaros were also into athletics.
Najib’s dream of a continental ticket would entail finishing in the top three of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) in the 2026/ 2027 season. His dad went continental in the African Champions League, with Mighty Jets in 1973. It was not a fruitful journey.
When Najib tried to join Jets from school, he was rejected by the coach who deemed him too small to adorn the stripes of the Jos team. At the appropriate time, the boy became an integral part of the club. His brother, Jamilu also starred for the team.
The father sent him to the Nigerian Institute of Sports (NIS) convinced that the son would go places as a coach. The journey is just beginning. Najib spent quite sometime handling the family team, from Junior to Senior.
He had a terrible period in 2023. On a Sunday, Jets lost in the Plateau FA Cup grand finale to city Rivals, Plateau United. Twenty four hours later, his father passed on. The senior Mabo coached both teams, at different times and ended up as Chairman of the state Sports Council.
Najib took over Doma United from Akinnade Onigbinde who quit at the end of the 2024/2025 season. And in just one season, he has succeeded in taking the Savanna Warriors back to the elite league, bringing joy to fans in Gombe State.
Four teams gained promotion to the NPFL from the NNL. They are Doma United, Ranch Bees Kaduna, Sporting Lagos and Inter Lagos. The cheery news is that all four clubs are owned by private citizens.
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