Oyedeji Elected First African Secretary General of World Olympians Association
Nigeria’s Olumide Oyedeji has made history as the first African to be elected Secretary General of the World Olympians Association (WOA).
The former NBA player and captain of Nigeria’s basketball team clinched the position after securing 55 out of 106 valid votes, representing 51.89 percent of the ballots cast.
Oyedeji defeated Salvador Salguero of El Salvador and Liston Bochette of Puerto Rico to succeed Anthony Ledgard of Peru.
He will serve a four-year term alongside WOA President Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden and Treasurer Wei-Tsu Thomas of Chinese Taipei.
Currently President of the Nigeria Olympians Association and Third Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Oyedeji pledged to lead with integrity, transparency, and inclusivity.
‘Every continent, every National Olympians Association and every Olympian matters,’ he said, promising to strengthen collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and amplify Olympians’ voices worldwide.
The newly elected board reflects global diversity, with representatives from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Among them are Andrew Owusu of Ghana, Rosa Rakotozafy of Madagascar, Willie Banks of the United States, Claire Carver-Dias of Canada, Gilian Akiko Guevara of the Philippines, Deepak Bista of Nepal, Stavroula Kozompoli of Greece, Igor Boraska of Croatia, Julia Bell of Australia, and Carl Probert of Fiji.
Oyedeji’s election caps a distinguished sporting career. Drafted 42nd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2000 NBA Draft, he captained Nigeria’s D’Tigers to their first All-Africa Games gold medal in 2011 and co-captained the team that won the country’s maiden AfroBasket title in 2015.
