Shooting Stars have turned to one of Nigerian football’s most experienced tacticians to lead their push in the new NPFL season and a return to CAF continental football.
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Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan have appointed veteran coach Salisu Yusuf as their new Technical Adviser, filling the vacancy left by Nurudeen Aweroro’s departure, sportsration.com reports.
The NPFL club confirmed the appointment on Friday, shortly after announcing that Aweroro, team manager Tammy Tamuno and assistant coach Shakiru Lawal had left their positions by mutual agreement following discussions between both parties. Aweroro had joined Shooting Stars in July 2025 and guided the Oluyole Warriors to third place in the 2025/26 NPFL season, the club’s best league finish in 27 years, a result that also secured a return to continental football. Despite that achievement, he will not lead the team into the new campaign. Shooting Stars thanked Aweroro, Tamuno and Lawal for their commitment and contribution, wishing them well in their future careers.
A Coach With Continental Pedigree
Yusuf arrives with more than two decades of coaching experience, having begun his managerial career with Nasarawa United in 2002 before going on to work with several of Nigeria’s leading clubs, including Kano Pillars, Rangers International and Enyimba. He was most recently in charge of Coton Sport in Benin Republic, where he led the club to a second place league finish and a first ever CAF inter club qualification in its history, before leaving the role by mutual agreement.
At international level, Yusuf has served as an assistant coach of the Super Eagles and has also handled the Super Eagles B and Nigeria Under-23 teams. In 2018, he guided the home based Super Eagles to the final of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco, one of the more notable achievements of his coaching career. Shooting Stars said his experience, knowledge of Nigerian football and ability to develop homegrown players made him an important addition to the club’s technical team, adding that they expect him to provide strong leadership and a winning mentality for the new season.
Straight Into Continental Duty
Yusuf’s first major task will be guiding Shooting Stars in their CAF Confederation Cup campaign, where they face Tunisian giants CS Sfaxien in the first preliminary round. The first leg is set for the Remo Stars Sports Complex in Ikenne, with the return leg to follow in Sfax. The winner on aggregate will advance to face either Côte d’Ivoire’s AF Amadou Diallo or Sierra Leone’s East End Lions in the second preliminary round.
📌 Did You Know?
- Salisu Yusuf led Kano Pillars to the NPFL title in 2008 and won the Federation Cup with Enyimba in 2013, giving him domestic silverware with two different clubs.
- He holds a CAF A coaching licence and previously served as an assistant to Stephen Keshi during Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations-winning campaign in 2013.
- Yusuf briefly served as interim Super Eagles head coach in 2016, winning both friendlies he took charge of before Nigeria appointed a permanent replacement.
- Shooting Stars’ third-place finish under Aweroro last season ended a 27 year wait for continental football, meaning Yusuf inherits a club with genuine European-style ambitions for the first time in nearly three decades.
- CS Sfaxien, Shooting Stars’ first CAF Confederation Cup opponents, are a four time winner of the competition, making it a demanding introduction for Yusuf’s new spell in Ibadan.
- Before turning to coaching, Yusuf played professionally for Ranchers Bees and El-Kanemi Warriors and also represented Nigeria at junior and senior playing level.
- Yusuf’s second place finish with Coton Sport in Benin Republic delivered that club’s first-ever qualification for a CAF inter club competition, a similar breakthrough to what Shooting Stars achieved domestically last season.
