The role of sport in the processes of state building, development, and post-conflict reconstruction is a subject of considerable debate and disagreement. This article engages with this debate with attention to a case study of how a football club - Enugu Rangers International FC -helped to advance reconstruction and state building after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, which ended in 1970. It argues that sport can be a significant catalyst in establishing the conditions necessary for the pursuit of development.