At Akinyele Ground in Ibadan, three footballs released near the east touchline rolled towards the goal that players and spectators swear sits higher. The odd sight halted Thursday’s members’ meeting and sent the Oyo Lanterns FC board’s proposed 40-year stadium lease back for another month of scrutiny.
The club has been split since May over a plan to lease the ground to a local property company for ₦4.8 billion (about €2.7 million). Members gathered to vote on Thursday; instead, they watched the balls travel roughly 60 metres (197 feet) across the pitch, then voted 312 to 188 to postpone the lease decision until 29 October.
A vote delayed by the pitch
The board says the deal would pay debts, upgrade the team’s training facilities and give the Lanterns a smaller replacement ground nearby. Supporters who oppose it argue that Akinyele, where the club has played since 1978, is part of its identity and that members have not been shown enough detail about the replacement site.
The uphill effect has featured in club arguments for weeks, but Thursday was the first time it appeared during a formal meeting. “We came to count votes on the ground, and ended up counting how many times the ball defied our eyes,” said Andrea Nyström, secretary of the Lanterns Members’ Council. “Nobody wanted to sign off while the pitch itself seemed to be telling us something.”
We came to count votes on the ground, and ended up counting how many times the ball defied our eyes.
Andrea Nyström, secretary of the Lanterns Members’ Council
Surveyors test the slope
A field survey requested by the club found no hollow or hidden mechanism. Valeri Nikolajev, a geomatics lecturer who led the measurements, said the pitch drops 42 centimetres (16.5 inches) over 60 metres (197 feet) towards the east goal, although the stand and surrounding land make that direction look uphill.
“Your eyes use the roofline and the far stand as a level reference, but both are tilted in relation to the playing surface,” Nikolajev said. He tested six balls from marked points; each rolled east. The measured gradient is about 0.7%, within the ground’s permitted range, according to the club’s maintenance report.
The explanation has not quieted the debate. On Wednesday, players filmed another ball rolling toward the east goal during a training break, and the clip drew dozens of spectators to the ground before Thursday’s meeting. Club officials say the grass was dry and no staff member touched the ball; the Lanterns have asked the league to inspect the surface before their next home fixture.
Board chair Andy Robinson said the vote delay was a “sensible pause, not a defeat” and that the proposed lease remained on the table. The board will publish the replacement-site plans and a revised financial forecast before the October meeting, he said. Opponents want the club to put the full contract to a separate member vote.
The team’s players have tried to keep the strange slope in perspective. “We still have to score at both ends,” said Bautista Salcido, the Lanterns’ captain. The club’s next home match is scheduled for Saturday, with officials planning to mark the survey points and invite members to watch a ball test before kick-off.
For now, the ground stays open and the lease vote is on hold. The survey has offered a scientific answer to the uphill-ball puzzle, but it has not settled the larger question facing the Lanterns: whether a cash injection is worth giving up the field their supporters have called home for nearly five decades.
