Dr Felix Owolabi Akinloye MON on Saturday said that he doesn’t believe there’s juju in Football.
Owolabi , who was one of the Resource Persons at the Ibadan Football Council’s Pre-Season Seminar stated further that hardwork, discipline and diligence play key roles in shaping the future of footballers. He added that juju could work for
those that believed in it.
He told participants which included Club owners, Coaches and Players that it was imperative for them to choose morally upright role models who they would study the trajectory of their lives and emulate them.
The former Green Eagles and 3SC International who disclosed that the late Pele of Brazil was his role model said he also learnt one or two virtues from the lives of Chief Segun Odegbami and late midfield maestro, Mudashiru Lawal .
In her presentation, the first Speaker at the Seminar, Mrs IbukunOluwa Otesile urged Coaches to teach their players life skills as they would not play football forever. She noted that the skills acquired would outlive their football careers and sustain them after football.
Otesile who is the Lead Consultant at HOSEC Foundation spoke on “Player Development and Well-Being”.
She identified the five domains of development to include Physical Development, Ability to think and contemplate : Cognitive ability Emotional ,Social, Moral and Ethical developments. She noted that players must be able to blend passion and talent in order to produce excellence.
Otesile ,who also is the CEO of HopeCrest Wellness Clinic explained that if there was talent and no passion in a footballer,the career of such a player would be shortlived.
Fielding questions from participants, she advised Coaches not to waste their time on players who did not show enough commitment to the game.
She emphasized that Coaches should form a bond with their players through open Communication and Trust.
In his goodwill message, Chief Mutiu Adepoju, headmaster of Super Eagles fame lauded the management board of Ibadan Football Council (IFC) headed by Mogaji Rotimi Alli over the convening of the Seminar.
He said he had always desired scoring goals with his head right from his secondary school days.
The former Super Eagles midfielder stated that after secondary school ,he intensified practicing scoring with his head when it became obvious that it was his talent until he became really proficient at it .
