Ondo State ready to sell Akure Gunners, wants it run professionally

Sunshine Stars.

Sunshine Stars Ondo State ready to sell Akure Gunners, wants it run professionally

Hassan Abdulsalam 21:58 - 24.11.2022

The Ondo State Government could be ready to take inspiration from European giants like Manchester United, Liverpool and PSG.

The Ondo State Government have revealed that the state Owned club needs to be managed professionally and be business oriented.

The state Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Bamidele Ologun, said that the state is ready to sell the Nigeria Professional football club side.

A Sunshine Stars player is sandwiched in the NPFL.

He added that scouting is on for investors to come to handle the affairs of the club professionally and that the government's function is to develop sports and not the business side of it.

Speaking with NAN, “The state can decide to sell the club, Sunshine Stars FC if we get the right price and most importantly if the right company that has the right experience comes on board.

“What is important for us is to develop these sports and developing these sports doesn’t have to be done by the state or by the government.

“We are looking at investors who will come on board and run this club professionally and these days you know money is very essential in football, it’s big business and ordinarily, the government doesn’t have anything to do with business,” he said.

Sunshine Stars are also known as the Akure Gunners.

The Commissioner further said that Government is to create policies, adding that if Sunshine Stars is sold, they can use the money to develop grassroots sports.

“They (government) should just be there to create policies, to form policies and other things, so why not? (sell) for example, if my friend, Adriano (foreign scout) gets back to Europe and he is able to, through our partner, Mr Lanre Moyero will be bringing a billion dollars, for us to get Sunshine FC.

“And for us, once Sunshine FC is sold, for example, we can always have resources to do what we need to do, grassroots football, that is the main deal, that is where the real development is what matters to the government is for Sunshine Stars FC to be run professionally.

“First is for the right funding to be available, secondly, for the real development, grassroots development, these things need funding and the state does not have it. If we have the right funding, if the right people come on board, we are good to go and we are ready (to sell),” he said

The 27 Years of Sunshine Stars

Sunshine stars of Akure was established in 1995 with three appearances in the CAF inter-club competition.

The Owena Waves of Akure.

The Akure Gunners played in the CAF confederations Cup in 2011 where he reached the semi-final of the competition reaching the same milestone in the CAF champions league in 2012.

The club have been managed by some notable Nigerian coaches including former Super Eagles coaches, Kadiri Ikhana and Austin Eguavoen. The Owena Waves finished 16th last season in NPFL.

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