••• Sets Up New Management Committee
In a decisive step to arrest the alarming decline of state-owned football clubs, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa has inaugurated a new Management Committee for the Ondo State Football Agency.
The move comes in response to growing concerns over the deteriorating performance and structural disarray within the state’s flagship football teams — Sunshine Stars, Sunshine Queens, and Sunshine Stars U-19.
Once considered formidable forces in Nigerian football, both the male and female teams have in recent years struggled with relegation threats, poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, and managerial instability.
The newly constituted committee, to operate directly under the Governor’s office, is expected to conduct a sweeping review of the challenges plaguing the clubs and recommend urgent reforms to restore their past glory.
Members of the committee include: Divine Ogbonnaya – General Manager,Segun Joseph, Awosakin Iluyomade – Football Association Representative,Iyabo Ajanaku, andDapo Ajibade – Marketing Consultant.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, who had earlier pledged to reposition the state’s sports sector, urged the committee to prioritize transparency, professionalism, and sustainable strategies to ensure the teams’ promotion back to Nigeria’s premier leagues.
