Gov Akeredolu ready to sell Sunshine Stars
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is willing to sell Sunshine Stars Football Club.
Sunshine Stars are based in Akure and owned by the Ondo government.
Bamidele Ologunloluwa, the Ondo commissioner for youths and sports development, hinted on Wednesday.
“If a club like Manchester United, for example, says there is a club in Ondo state called Sunshine Stars, and we want to have them as our feeder’s team, are you saying we are not going to sell? We will sell immediately,” Mr Ologunloluwa said on Crest 106. 9 FM in Akure.
The football club currently play in the Nigeria Professional Football League.
Mr Ologunloluwa explained that the football club needed to be privatised for proper administration, stressing that the situation may lead to the government handing off the clubs completely or partnering investors.
He noted that the state-owned team would be open for sale to any would-be investors by the end of the ongoing 2022/2023 league season.
According to the sport commissioner, if a bigger organisation showed interest in buying the club, it would be sold out immediately.
“The government is saying we need the club privatised. In that way, the government may be funding the club, but it is not going to be like this. So, It’s not going to be 100 per cent. Then the private organisations can come in and partner the club,” Mr Ologunloluwa stated.
The commissioner added, “Not because we didn’t like Sunshine Stars, because it is even good for us as a state, it is good for the boys, for sports development because the government has no business in business.”
While stressing that the state was looking forward to a good investor with a proven track record in sporting management, Mr Ologunloluwa said no one had shown interest yet since the club.
“We just registered a company now; Ondo Sports Limited, Sunshine Stars FC, Sunshine Queens, Risings Stars put together, at the end of the season, we are going into full-fledged privatisation,” stated the commissioner. “It is better for us as a state, but some people don’t understand this. Once it happened, they will thank Mr Governor.”
Sunshine Stars is sixth on the NPFL table in Group B with seven points.
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