By Femi Atolagbe
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The three-man committee set up by the Ondo state government on how best to run the three football teams in the state Football Agency (ODSFA) has submited its report and recommendations.
The three-man committee had , Barrister Gbenga Adesioye as chairman, while Mr Daodu Alex and Mr Gbenga Fabomi are members.
The chairman of the committee, Adesioye said the committee was set up July 14th to advise the government on how best to run and get the best result for the three teams under the management of ODSFA Sunshine Stars, Sunshine Queens and the feeders team Rising Stars .
According to him, ODSFA was established to develop football in Ondo state but it has no legal backing, which is an aberration.
He further said that the ODSFA did not add any value to football in the state, therefore advised the government to give it a decent burial , because it is not useful to the Ondo state football.
“We recommend that ODSFA be scrapped. We also recommend that Sunshine stars FC, be managed by a-five management team .
A professional management team should be set up for ODSFA.
While Sports Council should be managing the Sunshine Queens .
According the committee the feeders team should be used to discover and develop players for Sunshine Stars.
The committee also recommended that the government look into the debt profile of ODSFA and find a way of pay it. That the government should reduce the over bloated staff of ODSFA, support and fund football academy in the state.”
He said if all these recommendation are implemented, they will give football a new direction in Ondo state.
In his reaction, the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Saka Yusuf Ogunleye appreciated the committee for a job welldone, saying all the stakeholders in football have agreed that we must do something about the challenges in football management in the state.
He said, the last administration ran the agency with millions of naira , despite that they were still owing players months of unpaid salaries. Definitely the problem of ODSFA is not financial, rather it is a structural problem.
“We recently received a letter from FIFA for the debt to the tune of N20million, adding that three committees had been set up before this one, still the agency was still in crisis.
LMC and NFF did not recognise ODSFA , all their correspondents have been with Sunshine management, he noted.”
According to the commissioner, we are going to take step to address the issues. We won’t mind stepping on toes, we can’t continue to be at the mercy of the coaches we employed.
The Commissioner said that Sunshine Queens be taken back to the stadium at the end of the season, this will be the third committee that recommended that we take them back to the stadium.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry Dr (Mrs) Eshofonie commended the committee , for doing a very good job, saying anybody that is hungry for success will not allow things to go wrong.
She however urged the government to as a matter of urgency do something about the committee’s report.
The administrative secretary of ODSFA, Mr, Akingbasote Oluwagbenga, said the committee’s report is detailed ,adding that the non performance of the teams is affecting everybody in the agency. He thanked the committee for looking at the payment of the agency’s debts.
