IKPO IGBINOBA
Time was when the Shooting Star Sports Club, 3SC of Ibadan also known as the “Oluyole Warriors” was hope of the entire Yoruba race and even the Nigerian nation on the football pitch.
Those were the days when the team won laurels at the national level and on the continent.
The exploits of the club then known as IICC Shooting Stars provided the lyrics for some monster hits by local musicians.
Indeed, 3SC in those days carved a niche for itself and earned a deserved place in Africa’s football hall of fame.
However, the iconic team last season was relegated from the Nigeria Professional Football League(NPFL) to the Nigeria National League(NNL) ; no thanks to years of poor funding which affected the quality of players the team could hire.
Thus in this season, Ibadan which without dispute is one of the power houses of Nigerian football will be denied top league action.
For the Ibadan fan, it is a tragedy that he won’t be seeing his darling team 3SC compete with the creme de la creme of Nigerian football this season.
But then the agony for Ibadan and the teeming population of football fans is just for a season for the team has drawn up a battle plan that would see it return to the top flight.
General Manager of 3SC, Mr. Rasheed Balogun spoke of the team’s burning ambition to return to the big league in an exclusive interview with PM Express.
According to him “Going by the antecedents of our club, 3SC, we have no business playing in the lower league but unfortunately that is the reality today. And it is very painful”
Mr. Balogun continued “But then I can assure all our supporters in Ibadan, across the country and even in the diaspora that we will return to the professional league at the end of the season”.
Though he refused to divulge the details of his battle plans, Mr. Balogun sounding very confident gave an inkling of what to expect from his club.
“We had some challenges last year and the management has identified those challenges and they are being addressed.
“By the time the season kicks off, our players would be so highly motivated and determined that it would be difficult for any team to stop them”.
On the issue of funding, Mr Balogun thanked the Oyo State government for its support. “In spite of challenges faced by government in the area of revenue generation, the Oyo State government has tried its best for us”.
But he was quick to add “The truth however is that government alone can not fund us”.
The general manager called on corporate organisations to partner with the “Oluyole Warriors “to address the issue of funding.
“I am appealing to corporate organisations to come and partner with us so that we can address this issue of funding which has been a huge challenge to us”.
Mr. Balogun said such partnership would be mutually beneficial because according to him “Whatever our present status, 3SC remains the biggest brand in Nigerian football”.
The veteran football stressed “Whoever partners with us will have a lot to gain because we have a great name, a rich history and a prosperous future, and without mincing words 3SC is the biggest brand in Nigerian football”.