Shooting Stars S.C. have officially returned to continental football for the first time in 27 years after securing a third-place finish in the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League season.
The Oluyole Warriors sealed qualification for next season’s CAF Confederation Cup despite suffering a 1-0 away defeat to Niger Tornadoes F.C. in their final league game of the campaign.
3SC ended the season with 60 points, finishing behind league champions Rangers International F.C. and second-placed Rivers United F.C. to clinch one of Nigeria’s continental tickets.
The achievement marks a historic return to Africa for the Ibadan-based club, whose last appearance in continental football came in 1999 during the CAF Champions League campaign.
That appearance followed the club’s Nigerian league triumph in 1998. During the 1999 CAF Champions League, Shooting Stars reached the group stage and faced some of Africa’s biggest clubs, including Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC and Moroccan side Raja Club Athletic.
Since then, the historic club had remained absent from CAF inter-club competitions despite several attempts to secure a return to the continental stage.
Founded in Ibadan, Shooting Stars remain one of Nigeria’s most celebrated football institutions. The club made history in 1976 by becoming the first Nigerian side to win a continental title after lifting the African Cup Winners’ Cup.
Their qualification for the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup has already sparked excitement among football fans in Ibadan and across the country, with supporters hopeful the Oluyole Warriors can restore their glory days on the African stage.
