Kadiri Ikhana (born 31 December 1951) is a Nigerian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who last managed

Kano Pillars Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football (soccer), football club based in Kano (city), Kano, northwestern Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first-tier division in Nigerian football. They pl ...

Playing career

Ikhana played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Bendel Insurance, winning the league in 1979 and the FA Cup in 1978 and 1980. Ikhana represented

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at international level, playing for them in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches at the

1980 Summer Olympic Games The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. He won the

1980 African Cup of Nations The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Nigeria won its ...

with Nigeria.

Coaching career

Ikhana has coached a number of Nigerian club sides, including

El-Kanemi Warriors El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club is a football team based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Their play ground is the El-Kanemi Stadium, Maiduguri. The club is on a positive rebound having gained promotion to the 2024–25 Nigeria Premier Footb ...

BCC Lions BCC Lions Football Club (Benue Cement Company Lions Football Club) was a Nigerian football team based in Gboko, Benue State. It competed at various levels in the Nigerian League system, including the Nigeria Amateur League and the Nigeria Profes ...

Kwara United Kwara United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Ilorin. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional football League having gained promotion in 2017 from the Nigeria National League. Their home s ...

, Sunshine Stars,

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

and Giwa. In 1995, he managed Mohammedan SC in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, before being sacked for a poor run of results in the league. Ikhana managed Nigeria's

Enyimba Aba is a city in southeastern Nigeria. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River and is at the intersection of roads leading to settlements such as Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot-Abasi. Aba was established by t ...

, winning the African Champions League in 2003. He was awarded CAF's Coach of the Year that same year. In 2004, he was manager of the Nigerian men's Olympic team. He later managed

, before resigning in May 2008, citing corruption in the sport. He had led Kano Pillars to their first ever league title a day earlier. He was appointed manager of the Nigerian women's national team in April 2012, before resigning in November 2012. He was managing

Nasarawa United Nasarawa United Football Club is a soccer club based in Lafia, Nasarawa, Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Premier League. History The team was founded in 2003 after the Nasarawa government took over Black Stars FC of Gombe. They joined the ...

in November 2013 when he decided to retire from the sport. He returned to Enyimba, winning another league title, before moving to Shooting Stars in February 2016. He returned to Kano Pillars in November 2016, before being sacked in April 2017.

Honours

As a player

;With Bendel Insurance *Nigerian Premier League – 1979 *Nigerian FA Cup – 1978, 1980 ;With Nigeria *African Cup of Nations – 1980

As a coach

;With Enyimna *Nigerian Premier League – 2015 *CAF Champions League – 2003 ;With Kano Pillars *Nigerian Premier League – 2008

Individual

*CAF Coach of the Year – 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikhana, Kadiri 1951 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Nigerian men's footballers Bendel Insurance F.C. players Nigeria men's international footballers Africa Cup of Nations–winning players 1978 African Cup of Nations players 1980 African Cup of Nations players Olympic footballers for Nigeria Footballers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Nigerian football managers Expatriate football managers in Bangladesh Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Bangladesh El-Kanemi Warriors F.C. managers BCC Lions F.C. managers Kwara United F.C. managers Sunshine Stars F.C. managers Sharks F.C. managers Giwa F.C. managers Enyimba F.C. managers Kano Pillars F.C. managers Nasarawa United F.C. managers Shooting Stars S.C. managers Nigeria women's national football team managers People from Ilorin 20th-century Nigerian sportsmen