Remo Stars - Seriously?

 

Remo stars has now played 11 games unbeaten run in the ongoing 2021/22 NPFL season. Perhaps, it's time to begin to take this newly promoted Ikenne side seriously as real contenders for the elite league trophy this time around. 

Remo Stars returned to the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League table after a 1-0 win over South West rivals 3SC in Ikenne, thus remaining the only unbeaten side in the league after 11 games.

What Makes Remo Stars Tick

Remo stars is one of the clubs doing things differently here in Nigeria. The club is modelled like an European club. Maybe, because they have direct affiliate and share resources with Portuguese top club: Clube Desportivo Feirense, which is also own by Kunle Soname

The Ikenne based club is perhaps, the best structured in Nigeria, in terms of facilities and human capital development. Remo coaches are often taken to Portugal for self development and the team have players have have trained for over 12 years or so. Players that joined from Under 13 and are now playing in the elite league. 

For those following the progress of the club knows it is just a matter of time before Remo stars will take the center stage in Nigeria football. 

History and Progress Over the Years

The club’s origins began in Lagos as a recreational and development outfit for youths before it morphed into FC Bender following impressive outings in grassroots tournaments. The club’s profile continued to rise  steadily and this led to more rebranding of its name to Remoland, when Kunle Soname, the owner, moved the club to his hometown Ikenne Remo and finally, the club adjusted it's name to Remo Stars, with its new base in Ikenne.

Remo had made some remarkable giant strides in the Nigeria National League, the country’s second-tier. They made history when they first gained promotion to top-tier, the Nigeria Professional Football League, in 2017. It created lots of buzz along with Mountain of Fire FC, FC Ifeanyi Ubah and ABS FC which are the privately-run clubs in the top-flight, a good sign for a league that is largely filled with clubs that are practically an extension of the state government civil service.

Joy quickly ended in agony for the Sky Blues as they were instantly relegated back to the NNL after a string of poor results and finished rock bottom. Undeterred, Remo immediately got NPFL promotion again in 2019, but yet, they got relegated, finishing last in Group A of the abridged league format.

After two seasons in the NNL, Remo Stars are now back in the NPFL with a big bang, for the third time in their short history. 

It’s indeed, a sign of how well they are improving, a claim held by their former coach Fatai Osho, who led them to their second NPFL promotion.

“They (Remo Stars) have been improving every day because they have the best structure in the country. In form of facilities, they will rank as one of the best in Africa. You need to be at their new stadium to see how well the club has progressed,” Osho told CheerOnNigeria.