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| Dr Deji Olarinoye aka NFA. |
We your colleagues and alma mata of University of Ilorin are proud of you boy. Keep living the dream.
Dreams, indeed, diehard for Deji Olarinoye, following his transition from a ball boy to the Golden Eaglets’ physician at the 2013 UAE FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
It all looks like yesterday when a blue-eyed boy served as a ball boy during a crucial 1994 World Cup qualifier against Algeria at the National Stadium in Lagos. That experience was a turning point for the younger Olarinoye who vowed not to do anything in life other than a career in sport, writes MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.
It was that desire that made him turn his full attention to sports medicine and the dream of that ball boy of yesterday has crystallised so much so he’s making his debut at an international tournament.
“I’m lucky to have come from a background where almost everything I knew was sports,” said Olarinoye who graduated from the University of Ilorin in 2008. “I virtually eat and drink sport but football was my favourite.”
Deji is the scion of Dr. Steve Olarinoye, erstwhile Head of International Competitions at the Nigeria Football Federation, and the current coordinator of the south-west zone of the Nigerian Sports Commission (NSC) in Ibadan.
“Though my parents are involved in sports, I had this burning desire to play football but my dad especially wanted me to focus my attention on education, of which I have no regret today,” explained the young man.
“In fact, my love for football and my desire to contribute to the development of the game made me vow to become a sport physician some 15 years ago.
“Apart from serving as a ball boy during a match between the Super Eagles and the Fennecs of Algeria at the National Stadium in Surulere, I was excited to see the medical team attend to players and that really influenced my decision to turn my attention to sports medicine.”
Young and energetic, Deji brings so much passion to his job and his puritanical devotion was there for all to see,with the manner he discharges his duty with the Golden Eaglets.
“ Frankly, the role of a team physician is very tasking,” noted Deji in apt reference to the challenges he has to cope with, especially with the novel Magnetic Image Resonance (MRI) Test recently put in place by the world soccer ruling body, FIFA. “First and foremost, you must be equipped with the knowledge and be abreast with any new development.
“Sports medicine, for instance, is multi-disciplinary and as the head of a medical team, you must not be found wanting; so it is a continuous learning process and good enough, I’m working under technocrats who have varied experiences with the national teams even before I was born!
“ By and large, it is an interesting job because it allows me the opportunity to enjoy the sport I really love so much despite the fact that I couldn’t fulfil the dream of making it as professional player,” he reasoned.
Like in all profession, you must earn people’s trust, and this, according to Dr. Deji, as he’s fondly called in the National-Under-17 set up, is very important or as Ernest Hemingway put it: ‘The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.’
“Footballers are special people,” declared Deji, whose other past time is playing table tennis and surfing the internet. “But as a sports physician, you need to understand what they go through so that they can have confidence in you because the job could be difficult if they don’t have your trust.
“My priority is to ensure that the players are in good medical condition so that they can give their optimal best and I do go the extra mile in order to ensure that the players are ready, fit for the rigours of their job.”
On a lighter note, Deji still rued the fact he never fulfilled the expectations of his secondary teacher who noted, inter alia, on his report card: ‘the boy who will play for Nigeria.’
Said he: “Well, at my own level, I played football on the streets as well as in school. In fact, I was the captain of my school’s medical team.
“Of course, it would have been nice to play football to the highest level especially with the kind of money being earned by professional footballers today, but I’m fulfilled being involved with the game in another relevant capacity,” added Dr. Deji
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