Medeama SC, the reigning champions of the Ghana Premier League, have been paired with Remo Stars FC in the preliminary rounds of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League.
The fixtures will see Medeama hosting Remo Stars between August 18-20, followed by a trip to Nigeria for the return leg scheduled for August 25-27, 2023.
The winner of this two-legged encounter will advance to face Horoya, a 20-time Guinean champion, in the second round of qualifiers. The first leg against Horoya is set to take place between September 15-17, with the second leg scheduled from September 29 to October 1.
Here’s a brief overview of Remo Stars:
- Remo Stars Football Club is a professional team based in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria, competing in Nigeria’s topflight league, the Professional Football League. They are known as the Sky Blue Stars.
- The club was established in 2004 by Kunle Soname, a Nigerian politician, entrepreneur, and sports enthusiast, who also serves as the chairman of Bet9ja, a popular betting website founded in 2013.
- Initially named FC Dender, the team underwent a major rebranding in 2010, leading to its current identity as Remo Stars.
- The Sky Blue Stars are managed by Daniel Ogunmodede, who previously served as an Assistant Coach for Portuguese side CD Feirense during the 2021/22 season.
- Remo Stars play their home matches at the Remo Stars Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators.
- The club’s primary color is Sky Blue, with yellow and white as their away and alternative colors, respectively.
- Remo Stars gained promotion to Nigeria’s second-tier league, the Nigeria National League (NNL), in 2010. They secured promotion to the topflight Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in 2016 but were later relegated back to the second tier in 2018.
- After returning to the NPFL in September 2021, Remo Stars have been consistently competing in the top division.
- Among their rivals, Gateway United FC, a second-tier side, and Ijebu United are considered primary opponents. Remo Stars also share a rivalry with Shooting Stars.
- This marks Remo Stars’ debut in the CAF Champions League. In the past, the team has participated in the CAF Confederations Cup on three occasions.
- In the recent Nigerian Professional Football League season, Remo Stars finished second on the league table with 33 points, recording 9 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses in 18 matches.
- Presently, Remo Stars have two former players from the Ghana Premier League in their squad, namely Isah Ali and Andy Opke, both of whom previously played for Inter Allies and were among the players banned by the Ghana FA two years ago for involvement in match-fixing.
