The Ondo State Government has assured supporters and fans of Sunshine Stars of early preparations ahead of the 2021/2022 season of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
State Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Ayedatiwa, gave the assurance on Tuesday, in Akure, while playing host to People United By Sports (PUBS), who appreciated the support rendered to the team, to escape relegation in the last NPFL season.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sunshine Stars escaped relegation on the last day of the season by defeating Rivers United 1-0 in Akure, to finish in 16th position with 45 points.
He promised that government would do everything possible for the club not to find itself in such a precarious situation again, explaining that Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was keenly following the club’s activities with a view to helping it succeed.
Ayedatiwa, who is the Chairman of a three-man committee put in place by the state governor to steer the affairs of the team to ensure they escaped relegation, thanked the coaching crew for a job well done in achieving the results that helped the club to escape relegation.
“The governor monitored the matches, that is how he knew that the club played 18 matches without a win and sacked the board.
“We will engage the right technical crew, the right players; we struggled last season because most of our players are average players, but we will not wait, we will start early so that we can run smoothly without struggling,’’ he said.
Earlier, President of the PUBS, Seun Betiku, said members of the group were happy with the support the team got to escape relegation.
Betiku urged the state government to start preparations as soon as possible, before the league starts, to prevent the kind of problems the Sunshine Stars faced last season. (NAN)
