Veteran Sports Journalist Mumini Alao Presents New Book: “The Making Of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games.”
Group Managing Director and Executive Consultant of Complete Communications Limited (CCL) Dr. Mumini Alao, has authored and presented a new compelling book titled “The Making Of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games.”
The book presentation took place on Sunday, 12 June, 2022 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, during the 2021 The Ballers Awards ceremony.
Nigeria became the first African country to win Olympic football gold medal when the country’s team achieved the historic feat at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.
Led by Dutch coach, Johannes Bonfrere, the U-23 Eagles, popularly nicknamed the ‘Dream Team’ had superstars like Nwankwo Kanu, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpeba, Uche Okechukwu, Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and Dosu Joseph.
Celestine Babayaro, Tijjani Babangida, Mobi Oparaku, Garba Lawal and Wilson Oruma.
After advancing from a tricky group, the Dream Team defeated Mexico 2-0 in the quarter-final, came from behind to beat a star-studded Brazilian side 4-3 in the semi-final before pipping another South American powerhouse Argentina 3-2 in the final.
Dr. Alao 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.
“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.”
Alao further explained why the book was unveiled at the Ballers Awards.
“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. When I spoke to the organizers, 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 is also graceful for the support he received from other people.
“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.”
. Alao provides a guarantee of enjoyment and satisfaction for anyone that reads the book.
“There are lots of previously unpublished insider information and exclusive interviews in the book. 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.”
HOW TO BUY THE BOOK…..
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). Please click on any of the links below to place your order.
This article on Mumini Alao's new book, "The Making of Nigeria's Dream Team," is a fantastic read. It captures the essence of Nigerian football and the journey of the Dream Team perfectly. For those interested in sports and fitness equipment in Nigeria, I recommend visiting Jiji. They offer a wide range of products that can help you stay active and enjoy your favorite sports. Kudos to the author for shedding light on such an important part of Nigeria's sports history!
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