Shooting Stars have qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time since 1999.
The Oluyole Warriors finished third in the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League season with 60 points from 38 matches.
Their continental return marks the end of a 27-year absence from African club competition.
The Ibadan-based side entered the final day of the season knowing that a top-three finish would secure their place in Africa. They faced Niger Tornadoes away on Sunday.
A 1-0 defeat could not deny them the continental ticket. Their closest rivals, Ikorodu City, lost 2-1 to newly crowned NPFL champions Enugu Rangers. That result left Ikorodu City on 58 points, two points behind Shooting Stars, condemning them to fourth place for the second consecutive season.
Shooting Stars’ 60-point haul came from 38 matches, with 18 wins, six draws, and 14 defeats. They scored 41 goals and conceded 39 across the campaign. The consistency over the final weeks proved decisive.
Three wins in their last five matches lifted them into third position, and despite the final-day loss, their two-point cushion proved enough.
A historic return to the continent
Shooting Stars last featured in a CAF competition in 1999, when they reached the group stage of the African Cup of Champions Clubs, now known as the CAF Champions League, following their 1998 league triumph.
The club has endured decades of struggle since that appearance. Relegation on technical grounds after the turn of the millennium was followed by four seasons outside the top flight before promotion in 2003. Further relegations followed in 2006, 2013, and 2017.
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The turnaround was driven by a major structural overhaul before the 2025/26 season. The Oyo State Government replaced the previous board with a corporate-led management model.
Business executive Taiwo Lekan-Salami was appointed executive chairman with a mandate to reduce reliance on government funding. Marketing specialist Bunmi Fadayomi was installed as chief operating officer, and sports journalist Tobi Adepoju was brought in as sporting director to oversee recruitment and long-term squad development.
What comes next?
The CAF Confederation Cup will begin in the preliminary rounds in the new season. Shooting Stars will need to navigate the early rounds to reach the group stages. Their return to Africa represents a significant milestone for a club that once won the continental competition.
In 1992, Shooting Stars became the first winners of the CAF Cup, the precursor to the Confederation Cup, defeating Uganda’s SC Villa 3-0 on aggregate in the final. The club also finished as runners-up in the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1984 and 1996.
For the passionate fans of the Oluyole Warriors, the wait is finally over. After 27 years, the famous Lekan Salami Stadium will host continental football once more. Shooting Stars are back on the African stage.
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