Kennedy Boboye, the head coach of Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) club Sunshine Stars, has officially resigned from his role, a decision that follows Sunshine Stars’ narrow 1-0 loss to Heartland on Sunday, November 10th.
The two-time NPFL-winning coach blamed the persistent interference from club management as the main factor behind his departure.
According to Boboye, this interference has severely hindered his ability to reach his goals with the Akure-based team.
“I want to inform you that I will be stepping down as Sunshine Stars coach after Sunday’s NPFL match against Heartland,” Boboye told Flashscore.
“My decision is final, and I have no regrets about taking this step.”
Boboye explained that when he rejoined Sunshine Stars, he was promised the freedom to make independent decisions—a promise he says the club failed to keep.
This lack of autonomy reportedly led him to make the decision to step down five days before the game against Heartland.
“When I returned to this team, I was assured I’d have the freedom to make independent decisions, but that hasn’t been the case.”
Despite managing to steer Sunshine Stars clear of relegation last season, Boboye claims this was accomplished largely through his own efforts, without the promised support from management.
He alleged that executives, lacking technical coaching experience, began interfering with coaching decisions, especially in terms of player selection.
“This season, my role became increasingly difficult as club executives – who lack technical coaching experience – began overstepping by directing my backroom staff on player selection decisions.”
“When Sunshine Stars lose, they are the first to assign blame. If I had faced this kind of interference at my previous clubs, I doubt I would have won the NPFL title twice,” Kennedy Boboye concluded.
Sunshine currently sits 14th on the table with 13 points points in 11 games.
