Ondo State Government Put Sunshine Stars Up For Sale

The Ondo State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Bamidele Ologun, has expressed the state government readiness to sell off the state football club, Sunshine Stars Football Club.

Ologun who stated this during a press briefing to close the Moyero scouting programme at his office in Akure, the state capital, said that what was important for the government was to develop the sports.

He disclosed that the state has been scouting for investors that would come on board and run the club affairs professionally, different from what had been done in the past.

Ologun said “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.

Ologun reiterated that government did not have anything to do with business other than to form and create policies that would bring development.

The commissioner added that the state government is interested in ensuring that the club was being run professionally by any investor that showed interest in purchasing the club.

He added that the state was ready to go ahead and sell the club because what mattered most for the government was for the right funding to be available and for real development at the grassroots level that would cost a lot of money that was not available.

“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.

-TribuneSports