Former Super Eagles forward Osaze Odemwingie is dreaming of seeing Nigeria’s flag in the game of golf at the Olympics, as he continues his rise in his new professional path with the hopes of returning to the global sporting stage, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Osaze became a professional golfer in 2019 and graduated from the Professional Golfers Association’s school in June 2024.
The 43-year-old started playing the game towards the end of his time at West Brom in the English Premier League, and with golf having been readmitted to the Olympics in 2016, he wants to see a Nigerian aiming for the pin at the biggest sporting spectacle on earth.
“If I cannot play as a golfer, I can at least be in the team of a golfer who will play there,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“I want to introduce people to the game and build a generation of golfers, from Nigeria in particular, that will participate in the Olympics.”
Osaze was part of Nigeria’s squad that won silver in the Men’s Olympic Football event in Beijing 2008 and further explains the thrills of winning an Olympic medal.
“The medal is very well respected,” he says of his silver, while also referencing the gold medal won by the men’s team in Atlanta in 1996.
“It’s a way to sell the project to our state government.”
Beyond the Olympics, he also wants to spread the gospel of golf, by planning meetings with officials and big corporations in Nigeria, hoping to promote the benefits of his new sport and also build an academy in Benin City.
“If we have more golf courses, there will be tourism. Kids can get scholarships in good countries. If somebody sees an opportunity, they can latch on to [it] and give themselves an amazing life.
“It’s like any other sport. The earlier you start, you have a chance to become an elite.
“One of my dreams is to see a Nigerian flag on the European Tour or PGA Tour.
“Hopefully my story will encourage people to start participating, encourage parents to take their kids and give them a feel of golf. I’m sure many of them will fall in love with the game just like I did.”
Since he retired from football in 2018, Odemwingie has not been seen in any coaching role but he has already mapped out a plan for his coaching career in golf.
“I have all the books ready to make the next step in the coaching, which is the plan now to read as many books as I can. I want to keep on following that path of continuous professional development and I’m interested in the courses the PGA offers.
“I’m taking a break for one year where I’ll read and learn as much as I can and then I’ll go back and do the honours degree at the University of Birmingham from next September (2025),” he told the PGA website in June 2024.
In football, the 43-year-old featured for Nigeria Premier League side Bendel Insurance between 2000 and 2002 before moving to Europe for spells with La Louviere, Lille, Lokomotiv Moscow, West Brom, Cardiff, Stoke, Bristol City, Rotherham United and Madura United in Indonesia.
He earned 65 caps for the Super Eagles, scoring 11 goals.
