I’ll use SOCA to reposition Nigerian sports – Odegbami

Former Green Eagles winger, Segun Odegbami (MON) has revealed his plans to use his pet project, Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy (SOCA) to reposition Nigeria’s ailing sports industry.
The 1980 AFCON winner, told The Point that the issue of using overaged players for youth competitions in the future would be a thing of past when the products of his school would gain prominence.
He added that with SOCA holding sway, the history of retired athletes ending up neglected and poor after their sports careers, would be a thing of the past.
Odegbami said, “The public did not fully understand the philosophy of the academy and did not take enough advantage of the unique opportunities that SOCA offered.
“Even as I speak, most people are still making enquiries about the school thinking that it is another football academy like so many all over the country, where boys train and play football with the objective of securing a professional contract abroad.
“Frankly, SOCA is much more than that. The school is a multi-sports academy. It offers its students the necessary training and facilities for development, to hone their skills and ability in anyone of football, basketball, tennis and track athletics. So there are four academies in the school.
“The school has graduated 8 sets of students and in 10 years of exciting, difficult and challenging journey, we have enrolled boys and girls into the school as a result of deep passion for sports, especially football and usually their parents’ deep desire for a good education for them.
“With an average of 14 students every year, over one hundred students have passed through its programme and their academic scores in WAEC and NECO examinations have been exceptional.”
SOCA, according to Odegbami, is located in a pristine, serene and picturesque environment in the hills of Wasimi Orile in Ogun State.
He said, “You need to see it to believe it! It is far from the maddening crowd, where students can learn and play undisturbed by the hustle and burstle of urban life. The school is fully residential and every student lives on the campus.
“Unlike any other school in the country, SOCA may be the only secondary school in Nigeria that exposes its students to a minimum of 3 hours of sports everyday! That is in addition to their full hours of academic work. The ultimate goal is to get to the 4-hour-a-day magic number that very talented athletes need to put into their sport from a very young age to hope to be global champions one day!
“But even at 3 to 4 hours a day, the results have been phenomenal in both academics and sports.Today, we are mastering the process of transition from SOCA to American institution on a full scholarship for our excelling students. More of them will go as the programme improves yearly.
“Many more of them are also in friendly universities and polytechnics in Nigeria, pursuing their education and sport and still nursing the possibility of a sports career after graduating. That’s the way it should be, so that Nigeria can end this history of retired athletes ending up neglected and poor after their sports careers.”
Speaking on the future of SOCA with respect to Nigeria’s sports industry, the highly travelled sports technocrat said, “In the next 10 years, we want to make SOCA the best such school in the world! We intend to keep it still a small school providing qualitative education and first class sports training.
“In the next two years, all staff of the school will live in the environment and the number of football fields shall increase to four.
“The basketball and tennis courts shall increase to two each, while there will be laterite running track around one of the fields.
“In the next few years, when the policy of using only genuine students for under-17 national and international competitions becomes operative, SOCA shall become a ready source of authentic athletes in football, tennis, basketball and track athletics for our national teams.”