Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan will henceforth play its home matches at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
This development is as a result of the decision of the Nigeria Premier League board to disapprove the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan, due to the bad state of the pitch.
The traditional home ground of the club, the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan is undergoing renovation, hence the decision to move to the neighbouring state.
The Eagle online gathered exclusively yesterday that after a marathon meeting of the management and Ministry officials, it was agreed that the team should relocate to the Ogun State capital.
It will be recalled that the Ibadan-based side played for the better part of last season at the MKO Abiola Stadium owing to the same reason of poor condition of pitch at the former Liberty Stadium.
However, the Zonal Sports Coordinator, NSC Zone One, Mr. Steve Olarinoye, insisted on Monday that the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium is good enough to host matches of the Shooting Stars SC.
Olarinoye told the club’s official website that with the level of work done so far, the pitch is good enough for the NPL matches.
The Coordinator said he has personally spoken with the NPL to inform them of the state of the pitch and wondered what the noise about the suitability of the pitch for league matches was all about.
He said work is continuing on the stadium to take it back to the good old days.
Olarinoye said: ‘’If NPL refuses to allow the stadium without inspecting it, then it means something is fishy.’