By Femi Atolagbe
Sunshine Stars Football Club of Akure have arrived in Abeokuta ahead of the 14th edition of the Gold Cup Tournament, which kicks off on Thursday at the MKO Abiola Stadium.
The 10-day pre-season tournament, scheduled to run from Aug. 13 to 22, will feature eight clubs from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nigeria National League (NNL) and other divisions.
Sunshine Stars, winners of the inaugural edition of the competition, have featured in several editions of the Gold Cup, including the last tournament held in Sagamu, Ogun State.
Head coach, Duke Udi, said the Owena Whales would use the tournament to give players valuable playing time and fine-tune preparations for the 2026/27 NNL season.
Udi, a former Super Eagles player, commended the organisers for providing clubs with an opportunity to assess their squads before the start of a new season.
He said pre-season competitions such as the Gold Cup enable coaches to test new players, strengthen their squads and identify areas requiring improvement.
The former First Bank FC coach also disclosed that Sunshine Stars had recruited additional players and promoted promising talents from their U-19 team.
He praised the support of the Chairman of the Ondo State Football Agency (ODSFA), Divine Ogbonaya, and said the tournament would provide an opportunity to assess the new and promoted players before deciding how best to integrate them into the senior squad.
The eight participating teams are Ikorodu City, Stormers FC; Abakaliki FC; Grassrunners, Doma United; Dokkal Khairu FC; Inter Lagos and Sunshine Stars.
Sunshine Stars will begin their campaign on Friday against Doma United.