GROUP Managing Director and Executive Consultant of Complete Communications Limited Dr. Mumini Alao, has written and presented a new book chronicling Nigeria’s finest football moment: the Atlanta ’96 Olympics football gold.
The book titled ‘The Making Of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games’ was presented on Sunday during the 2021 The Ballers Awards ceremony in Lagos.
Former Nigeria international Chief Segun Odegbami, who wrote the foreword of the book, was present at the presentation, along with other dignitaries in the world of sports.
The captivating book narrates Alao’s experiences as he covered the Nigeria team that became the first African side to win Olympic football gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.
Dr. Alao, regarded as one of Nigeria’s best sports writers of the last 40 years, explained his motivation for writing the book.
“As editor of Complete Football International magazine in 1996, I had the privilege of covering Nigeria’s ‘Dream Team’ — as we called them — very closely throughout their journey to the gold medal. I also reported that year’s Olympic Games for Complete Sports newspaper and the BBC Africa Service while traveling with the football team,” he said.
“When Nigeria eventually won the gold medal, I decided to write the book because it was our greatest ever achievement in world football and I felt that the story of how we did it should be preserved for posterity.
“Along the line, I misplaced the original manuscript and forgot about the project. But during the Covid 19 lockdown in 2020, I made a determined search to recover the manuscript and finally completed the book.”
He then further explained why the book was unveiled at the Ballers Awards ceremony.
“The Ballers Awards honoured me with the Icon of the Nigeria Sports Industry Award in 2020 which I acknowledged at the back of the book,” he noted. “When I spoke to the organisers, they were delighted and graciously agreed to include my book presentation in their programme for this year’s event. I will like to thank Gbenga Salu and his fantastic team again for the honour done to me.”
Alao, who has overseen the birth and growth of several successful publications in his over 30 years at Complete Communications, expressed gratitude for the support he received in the course of his stellar career.
He said: “I would have dedicated the book to my late boss and mentor, Dr. Emmanuel Sunny Ojeagbase, but it had been printed before he passed on. He gave me total freedom as editor of Complete Football, Complete Football Extra and Complete Football International magazines. May his generous soul continue to rest in peace.
“I thank Chief Segun Odegbami for writing an enthralling foreword to the book. People have to read the foreword to appreciate what I’m talking about. It is a great appetizer to the main course.
“Also, I thank all my former colleagues at Complete Communications Limited led by former Complete Sports editor, Samm Audu, for their vicarious contribution to the book.”
Dr. Alao provides an insight into what make his new book an ‘unputdownable’ one for all lovers of Nigerian football and sports in general.
“There are lots of previously unpublished insider information and exclusive interviews in the book,” he noted.
“Football fans who experienced the Olympic triumph in 1996 will be taken on a trip of beautiful nostalgia while those who were too young to witness it will get a sense of history firsthand. I guarantee that if anyone starts reading this book on Nigeria’s Dream Team, he will not drop it until he gets to the last page.”
‘The Making of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ‘96’ is available on Amazon.com (international delivery) and JUMIA.com (local delivery).
