At last, Shooting Stars soar

After three seasons in the National Division One League, the Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) finally battled its way back to the top flight and coach of the South-West outfit, Frankin Howard believes the club's return will add glamour to the Globacom Premier League.

After grabbing their promotion slot alongside Dolphins, Kwara United and Ranchers Bees, the Oluyole Warriors are relishing the challenge of playing at the top level again under his guidance.

"It's a fantastic feeling to be part of this. I am really delighted to have played a role in guiding this great club back to the top division.

When I took over the team, I felt it was a wonderful opportunity to coach a great team I have admired for so many years," said the former New Nigeria Bank and Green Eagles central defender whose national team career was truncated by injury problems.

"I couldn't fulfil my dream of playing for the club back then but I had a lot of friends who were playing for the team. So I wasn't too far away from happenings at the club. And when, eventually, I was given the job, I saw it as a good opportunity to make a strong contribution to the history of the club and I am happy to be part of this feat.

Glamour

"Now that we are back in the Premier League, we hope it would boost the morale of our fans who have stayed with the team during our difficult times. We also believe the return of the club to the top division can boost the followership of the Premier League because it is a club with great history of having produced some of the best footballers that have represented the country," Howard said.

Former Green Eagles and ex- Shooting Stars ace Felix Owolabi also expressed his delight over the promotion ticket.

"It is no doubt a good development for the fans of the team. Shooting Stars is a club with great tradition and tremendous followership, and we are all happy to see the team returning to the Premier League," said Owolabi who played a key role in the Green Eagles squad that won the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted on home soil.

Challenges ahead

Both Owolabi and another ex-player of the team, Dimeji Lawal, however, cautioned that there is still room for improvement albeit they commended the current management under the leadership of former Super Eagles attacking midfielder Mutiu Adepoju, the club's general manager.

"Of course the team will have to brace up for the challenges in the Premier League because expectation will be very high from the fans," said Owolabi who helped the Ibadan club to win the maiden edition of the CAF Cup in 1992.

Lawal added: "I was one of the first people to congratulate the team, especially Mutiu (Adepoju) because he has shown that he could also do well in administration after his exploits as a player. But a lot still has to be done to put the team where it belongs.

"No doubt one of the problems that kept the fans of the club away from the stadium was the fact that they are playing in the lower division, so this promotion will be a boost. But the management of the club still has a lot to do to get the club back to the top. The team needs to be more motivated because that will bring the best out of the players."

Shooting's major achievements

Nigeria Premier League: 5 times 1976, 1980, 1983, 1995, 1998

Nigeria FA Cup: 4 times -1971 (as WNDC), 1977, 1979, 1995

African Cup Winners Cup Champions 1976

African Champions Cup Runners up in 1984 and 1996

CAF Cup Champions 1992