You don’t win games on empty stomach, 3SC players tell management

Players and officials of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) sauntered out of the Adamasingba Stadium with heads bowed after their humiliating 3-0 home defeat by FC IfeanyiUbah on Sunday. The boys looked subdued, but not because they lost the game. Rather, as one of the players said, they were thinking of the hardship they have been facing for the past three months that they have not been paid any salary.

“We are suffering,” the player, a defender volunteered. Sunday’s defeat means 3SC remain among the relegation candidates with 22 points from 20 matches. They are 19th out of 20 teams in the competition and unless something drastic happens, the darling club of Oyo State will play in the lower division next season.

Lamenting the sorry state of the first Nigerian club to win a continental title, the defender, who pleaded anonymity, said: “We cannot be expected to rub shoulders with FC IfeanyiUbah players when we have so many domestic issues dogging us. We have not been paid for three months and sincerely, you cannot win matches on empty stomach.”

The Guardian learnt that the players and their officials are still being owed entitlements carried over from last season. “The management pretend as if everything is fine, but my brother it is a difficult situation,” he added.

3SC Coach, Fatai Amao is feeling the heat as the fans continually demand improvement from his team. Amao, who watched helplessly as FC IfeanyiUbah dismantled his wards on Sunday, said through the club’s twitter handle, “It’s painful, we are disappointed. We didn’t come to the party and we have to appeal to our fans, we will try harder in our games.”