Ibadan set to bubble for Prof Omotayo
A foremost Nigerian Sports Psychologist, Professor Oluwaseun Omotayo is set to drag African Athletics Stars and Sports Administrators to Ibadan, Oyo State on Saturday 5th December for the Diamond Milestone Lecture in Commemoration of his 30th Year of Academics and Sports Development Practices, 60th Birthday and Public Presentation of the book titled “Atlas of Africa Track and Field Athletes”.
According to him, “the year 2020 marks a special milestone in my academic and sports development practices as a foremost Sports Psychologist – a journey that started at the foremost University in Nigeria – University of Ibadan and have taken me across several regions and continents motivating and developing sports athletes, managers and Administrators to date”.
It will be recalled that Prof Omotayo was the Sports Psychologist attached to the Nigerian U20 National Team in 1989, during which time Nigeria played for the first time in the finals of the FIFA competition at that level and made history with the Damman Miracle. He was also the Consultant Sports Psychologist of the Shooting Stars Football Club in 1996 when the club played in the finals of the Africa Cup for Champion Clubs.
Prof Omotayo also provided the template for the first private sector driven National Sports Festival in Nigeria, the “Gateway Games 2006” and was a Member of the Advisory committee of the Gateway Football Club as well as a Member of the Governing Council of Tai Solarin University of Education.
The line up of expected personalities at the event includes African athletics stars, footballers (especially living members of the famous Nigerian Dammam miracle team to the 1989 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals), managers, administrators and captains of industries in the business world.
Over seventy five percent (75%) of the athletes documented in the book have agreed to be part of the presentation, while others will join virtually through the Athletics Africa digital platform.
He disclosed that Dekaizen Worldwide Limited has been appointed to midwife the processes of the book launch and also decided to donate all the financial support to both the Southwest Athletics Forum (SWAF) and the Oriola –Olubisi Omotayo Foundation (OOOF).
Prof Seun Omotayo is currently on an international engagement in Ghana as an international visiting scholar and across the ECOWAS region in his capacity as a resource person to the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Member of the ECOWAS Body of Sports Experts that drew up the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Policy Document and a Member of Nigeria Economic Summit Group Sports Industry Thematic Group (NESG /SITG).
