Chairman of Plateau United Football Club, Alhassan Yakmut, has described the team’s qualification for the quarter-finals of the 2026 President Federation Cup as evidence of the club’s ongoing transformation.
Yakmut said this in an interview with the News reporters in Abuja on Saturday after team defeated FC Basira 2-1 in a round of 16 encounter at the FIFA Goal Project Pitch of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
According to him, progressing to the last eight of the competition is a significant achievement considering the challenges the club faced at the start of the season.
“Moving from the round of 16 to the quarter-finals is a big achievement for us. We came into the season late and we had to build a competitive team under difficult circumstances.
“ The challenges of the league made it difficult to assemble a strong squad initially, but now that we have stabilised the team, we are beginning to see encouraging performances in the President Federation Cup,” he said.
He said that the club’s ambition is to reach the final while taking each game one step at a time.
“Our target is to reach the final, but we will take every match as it comes,” he added.
Reflecting on the club’s progress during the season, Yakmut recalled that Plateau United were struggling near the foot of the Nigeria Premier Football League table before staging a remarkable turnaround.
“We started the season with a largely youthful squad and were in 19th position after the first half of the season. We eventually moved up to 10th position.
“ The reforms and restructuring we introduced, both technically and administratively, are beginning to yield positive results,” he said.
Yakmut stressed the importance of investing in youth football development, noting that Nigeria possesses a vast pool of talented young players who require proper nurturing.
“The thinking is good, but more practical work needs to be done because the percentage of talented Nigerian youths is very high. We need to create more opportunities and structures to develop them,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the ongoing reforms within the club would provide a solid foundation for future success.
On his part, Chairman of the Plateau State Football Association (PFA), Suleiman-Yahaya Kwande,cautioned against underestimating teams in knockout competitions.
“In every Federation Cup competition, you do not underrate any team. If we had underestimated FC Basira, I don’t think we would have finished the game strongly.
“ They played a very good match and I was impressed with their performance. The officiating was also very reasonable,” he said.
According to him, Plateau United’s objective remains to reach the final and lift the trophy.
He said that the welfare package of the players has been improved, with bonuses upgraded to boost morale and performance.
“All their bonuses have been upgraded, and from time to time, Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau has personally spoks to the players to encourage them and on our part, we continue to support and motivate the team and management,” he added.
“I must commend the Governor for what he is doing for football in Plateau not only for Plateau United, but also for Mighty Jets and grassroots football.
“ For the first time, we have a Governor who is financing virtually every football programme we undertake,” he said.
Kwande further revealed that he would be contesting in the forthcoming Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections.