Sunshine Stars have chosen experience with international pedigree to lead their attempt to return to the top flight. Duke Udi arrives at the Owena Waves as technical adviser having worn the Super Eagles shirt and coached at multiple levels of Nigerian football. Banjo Adepoju joins him as head coach. The NNL campaign begins with a clear objective: promotion.
Sunshine Stars unveiled their new technical leadership at the club’s training camp along Oda Road in Akure on Thursday, bringing together a coaching structure built around the experience of former Super Eagles midfielder Duke Udi as technical adviser and Banjo Adepoju as head coach. The ceremony was conducted by Mr. Divine Ogbonnaya, Chairman of the Ondo State Football Agency, in the presence of Chief Dele Ajayi who serves on both the NFF board and as Ondo State Football Association Chairman along with FA board members and other football stakeholders from across Ondo State.
The occasion carried the weight of a club that knows exactly what it needs to do. Sunshine Stars were relegated from the Nigeria Premier Football League at the end of the 2025-26 season, dropping to the Nigeria National League and leaving a gap in top-flight football that the Ondo State Government and ODSFA are clearly determined to fill as quickly as possible. Bringing in a figure with Udi’s credentials — an international playing career and coaching experience across Nigerian football’s various levels — is the kind of appointment that signals serious intent rather than cautious rebuilding. NNL fans following Sunshine Stars’ promotion campaign can stay up to date with all NNL and NPFL news through FootballInNigeria.com.ng’s Bet9ja promotion code page as the new season approaches.
What Mr. Ogbonnaya Asked of the New Coaching Team
In his address at the unveiling ceremony, the ODSFA Chairman set the tone for what is expected from the new technical crew in specific terms. He urged Udi to “remain focused on the task ahead and avoid all forms of distraction” a message that reflects the urgency of the mandate without being ambiguous about what success looks like. The underlying context is clear to everyone in the room Sunshine Stars belong in the NPFL and the task is to return them there at the earliest opportunity.
Ogbonnaya also reaffirmed ODSFA’s commitment to providing the conditions needed for the technical crew and players to perform. That kind of institutional support statement matters in Nigerian domestic football, where clubs can sometimes find themselves competing in an NNL campaign without consistent backing from the state agencies that fund them. At the ODSFA level, the public pledge of support creates an accountability framework that the coaching staff will be expected to honour. Chief Dele Ajayi, speaking on behalf of the Ondo State FA, also confirmed the association’s intention to continue collaborating with ODSFA in supporting the club’s upward trajectory. NNL supporters backing Sunshine Stars through the season can check the latest Bet9ja offers at Bet9ja’s referral code page as the NNL campaign calendar is confirmed.
Udi and Adepoju Respond to the Challenge
Duke Udi’s response to the appointment was framed by gratitude and commitment in equal measure. He expressed his appreciation to both ODSFA and Sunshine Stars’ management for the confidence they had placed in him and gave the assembled stakeholders the assurance they needed that he would dedicate himself fully to guiding the team back to the top flight. It is the language of someone who understands the weight of the role he has accepted and who has no interest in managing expectations downward when the club’s ambition has been clearly stated.
Banjo Adepoju, the new head coach who will work alongside Udi in the day-to-day management of the playing group, pledged close coordination with the rest of the technical crew and made a specific commitment about player selection that it would be conducted strictly on merit. That assurance is worth noting in the context of lower-league Nigerian football, where selection processes can sometimes be influenced by factors that are not purely technical. Adepoju’s pledge draws a clear line about how the new coaching team intends to operate. The full Sunshine Stars squad for the NNL campaign and all pre-season news is available at Nigeria’s top Bet9ja promotion code page throughout the build-up to the new season.
The U-19 Recognition That Added to the Day
Before the senior staff unveiling concluded, the event included a moment of recognition for the Sunshine Stars Under-19 team, who were given a reception for their performance in the 2026 President Federation Cup. The youth side had reached the Round of 16 of the competition before being eliminated by Barau FC, a run that required victories over several well-regarded opponents earlier in the competition and earned them commendation from club officials and stakeholders present at the Oda Road camp. For a club that has experienced the disappointment of relegation from the senior structure, seeing the youth pipeline produce results and be publicly acknowledged is a reminder that the club’s football development goes beyond the first team’s immediate fortunes.
Sunshine Stars now prepare for an NNL campaign in which both the senior and youth structures will be expected to carry Ondo State football’s ambitions forward. The appointments confirmed on Thursday give the club a clear identity for the campaign ahead. Duke Udi and Banjo Adepoju have their mandate. The season cannot begin soon enough.
📌 Did You Know?
- Sunshine Stars FC are officially nicknamed the Owena Waves, a name derived from the Owena River that flows through the Ondo State region of southwestern Nigeria. The club is based in Akure, the state capital, and has historically been one of the more visible and well-supported clubs in the south-west football ecosystem.
- Duke Udi is a former Nigeria international midfielder who played for several clubs during his career, including a spell in European football. His appointment as Technical Adviser at Sunshine Stars follows a pattern in Nigerian football where former internationals transition into coaching and management roles at clubs in the lower divisions.
- The Ondo State Football Agency (ODSFA) is the body responsible for managing football development in Ondo State, overseeing both club affairs and grassroots development programmes. Its chairman, Mr. Divine Ogbonnaya, serves as the administrative link between the state government’s sports investment and the club’s operational management.
- Chief Dele Ajayi, who attended the Sunshine Stars unveiling as both an NFF board member and Ondo State FA Chairman, represents a dual role that gives Ondo State football relatively strong representation at the national federation level compared to states with less interconnected administrative structures.
- Sunshine Stars’ relegation from the NPFL at the end of the 2025-26 season means they drop to the NNL alongside several other former top-flight clubs, creating a highly competitive second tier competition. The NNL promotes four clubs to the NPFL each season, making it a compressed and intense environment for clubs with immediate promotion ambitions.
- The Sunshine Stars U-19 team’s President Federation Cup run in 2026, which included a Round of 16 appearance before losing to Barau FC, is one of the more significant youth cup achievements in the club’s recent history. Youth cup performances at the national level are increasingly used by clubs as evidence of a healthy development pipeline to attract sponsors and stakeholder support.
- Banjo Adepoju, the new Sunshine Stars head coach, joins the club with experience from the Nigerian domestic football circuit. His pledge to select players strictly on merit echoes a recurring theme in the unveiling statements of new coaches at state-funded clubs, where the independence of selection decisions from political or administrative interference is a perpetual concern for supporters and analysts.
