Just weeks after delivering Shooting Stars’ best season in years, Nurudeen Aweroro is out as head coach, with the club moving on days before a new NPFL campaign begins.
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Shooting Stars have parted ways with head coach Nurudeen Aweroro, ending his time in charge of the Oluyole Warriors barely a year after he arrived. Team manager Tammy Tamuno and assistant coach Shakiru Lawal have also left the club as part of the same shake-up.
The Ibadan club confirmed the news in an official statement. “We have reached a mutual agreement with Head Coach Nurudeen Aweroro, Team Manager Tammy Tamuno and Assistant Coach Shakiru Lawal to bring their respective contracts with the Club to an end, with immediate effect,” the statement read. “The decision follows discussions between the Club and the affected members of the technical team, with both parties agreeing to part ways amicably.”
The club was quick to credit the outgoing trio for their role in one of Shooting Stars’ most significant campaigns in years, thanking them for helping the team secure a third place finish in the 2025/26 NPFL season and a return to continental football. Fans following the coaching shake-up can check Bet9ja’s current promo code ahead of the new NPFL season.
The timing has raised eyebrows given how well things had gone under Aweroro. He was appointed in July 2025 after arriving from Ikorodu City, where he had guided the club to a fourth place finish in their debut NPFL season following a mid-season takeover. At Shooting Stars, he replaced veteran coach Gbenga Ogunbote and quickly built on that momentum, steering the Oluyole Warriors to third place in his first full season in charge.
That achievement carried real historical weight. Shooting Stars’ top-three finish secured the club’s return to CAF continental club football for the first time in 27 years, a milestone Aweroro himself had described with genuine pride only months ago. New Bet9ja users following NPFL coaching changes can check how to get the Bet9ja promotion code before the new season kicks off.
Shooting Stars didn’t specify the exact reasons behind the split beyond describing it as a mutual, amicable decision, but the abrupt nature of the change, arriving just before a new campaign, has fuelled speculation that behind the scenes tension with the club’s board played a part.
With the new season already scheduled to open against newly promoted Inter Lagos at the Lekan Salami Stadium, the club now faces the awkward task of appointing a new head coach on short notice. In the interim, the club has confirmed its remaining assistant coaches will oversee technical affairs until a substantive replacement is named. Punters following the coaching search can check Bet9ja’s YOHAIG code as more details emerge.
For a club that had finally started building real momentum after years of underachievement, the exit of the coach who delivered it adds an unexpected layer of uncertainty just as Shooting Stars prepare to build on last season’s breakthrough.
📌 Did You Know?
- Aweroro guided Ikorodu City to a fourth-place finish in their NPFL debut season before joining Shooting Stars.
- He replaced veteran coach Gbenga Ogunbote, known as “Oracle,” at Shooting Stars in July 2025.
- Aweroro previously worked at Remo Stars and MFM FC earlier in his coaching career.
- Shooting Stars’ third place finish last season ended a 27 year absence from CAF continental club football.
- The Lekan Salami Stadium, Shooting Stars’ home ground, is named after the family of the club’s current chairman.
- Shooting Stars missed out on a perfect final day of last season after a 1-0 defeat to Niger Tornadoes, though it didn’t cost them third place.
- Shooting Stars are scheduled to open the new NPFL season at home to newly promoted Inter Lagos.
