After guiding Nigeria’s U-20 team to victory at the WAFU U-20 tournament in Niamey, Niger, young left-back Olamilekan Oyedele has set his sights on winning a place in the senior national team, at the expense of more experienced players.
“I’m very excited with the progress I’ve made so far in my career, but this is not the real purpose because I need to work hard to convince my parents that I have a future playing football,” Oyedele told PUNCH Sports Extra.
“I need to make everyone believe that I have all it takes to excel and play for the national team.
“I had a good tournament in Niamey and I believe that I have what it takes to break into the national team if given the opportunity. I’m not afraid.
“In the next two years, I believe I would have grown enough to displace Zaidu Sanusi and Jamilu Collins in that position with hard work. But first I must ensure I work hard and allow the coach and every Nigerian see the quality in me.”
At 18, Oyedele has set a standard, having won several laurels at youth level, with the victory in Niamey the latest and highest.
It’s been a wonderful year for the left-back, who in the space of one year led Remo Stars U-19 to the TCC League victory in 2021, and had a very good run in the Nationwide League One, only missing promotion playoff by a point.
During the period, he made his Nigeria National League debut, before he was promoted to Remo’s first team. He made his debut in the Nigeria Professional Football League against Nasarawa United last April.
The Ogun-born star was also named the best defender at the Viareggio Cup in Italy in April, before being invited to the Nigeria U-20 team that emerged winners at the WAFU-B championship in Niger.
Like every kid with a dream, Olamilekan had always dreamt of playing football, but the youngster told PUNCH Sports Extra that it wasn’t until 2020, when he was 16 years, that he had the full confidence that he could make a career out of football.
He said, “It was not until two years ago, when I was promoted to the U-17 Remo team, that I had the full conviction that I had a future in football.”
Combining education and sports has always been a major problem for athletes, Olamilekan was no exception, but the defender has been able to devise a means around both.
“It wasn’t easy trying to go to school and playing football, but after I finished secondary school, I focused more on football. I am someone that reads a lot and that really helps me. When I become a professional footballer, I intend to complete my higher education.”
The WAFU-B champion added that he never had the support of his mother playing football while growing up in Ogun State.
“My parents, especially my mother, gave me a tough time because they wanted me to go to school. Sometimes they would find a task for me to get me busy because they didn’t want me to go play football.”
It’s the dream of every youngster to one day play for their favourite club, and the defender is no different.
“My dream is to play for a big club in Europe. I’m a Barcelona fan and I hope to play at the Nou Camp. I wish that can happen in the next five years. I will also love to play for Liverpool by God’s grace because I like them a lot too.”
Every footballer with great aspiration has someone they look up to and for the young player, Paris Saint-Germain and France defender, Presnel Kimpembe, is a player he admires and loves.
“My role model is Kimpembe in PSG and I like how he plays, I like to model my style around him.”
In an interview with PUNCH Sports Extra, Sidikat Oyedele, Olamilekan’s mother, opened up on how she almost stopped his son from playing football.
“We noticed he started showing likeness for football at a very tender age because whenever he sees people playing football, he would go there and I would beat him because I wanted him to go to school,” the mother said.
“But God knows best because despite the beating, he would always go back to playing football. I sell fish, whenever I asked him to watch over the fish, when I was smoking them, he would abandon it and go to play football. Most times they get burnt and out of anger I would beat him and even get him injured.
“His father was against how I beat him, but as a mother I thought I was doing the right thing that time by trying to force him to do my wish because none of my family ever played football. I never thought he would make a career out of it, but now I am wrong and I thank God for everything for helping him achieve his dream.”
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