By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (May 26^th 2026)

Mathematical’s Football Journey

Nigerian great, ‘Mathematical’ Olusegun (better known as Segun) Odegbami was the joint top scorer in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the 11^th and 12^th editions of Africa’s premier international tournament. He shared the honour with the late Phillip Omondi of Uganda and the late Opoku Afriye of Ghana in 1978[1].

In 1980 he top-scored again with three goals with Morocco’s Khaled Labied. That proved to be a very special tournament for him and his country – Africa too – as it launched Nigeria into Africa’s élite.

AFCON Joy

Nigeria won AFCON for the first time in 1980, repeating the feat in 1994 and 2013.

Odegbami was an important cog in the 1980 team – the vice-captain. He now shares his wisdom on African football. “Right now, I’m a sports consultant and yes, I’m a writer,” Odegbami told me in an exclusive interview.

The AFCON victory made him feel “happy, of course,” he said. “That was the first time Nigeria would win it and to have been able to do it at the time was a huge thing, and yes, it elevated our status in the country to that of firsts. We were the first to do it and that makes us very relevant since then up to now in the scheme of thigs in Nigerian football and Nigerian sport as a whole, so it was a great event in Nigeria and that feeling still sustains up to now.”

Hidden History – the Gossage Cup

Like many Africans – even former footballers – Odegbami was unaware of the continent’s first ever international tournament, the Gossage Cup, which reached its centenary earlier this month – (for further details see https://empowersmag.com/empowersmagwp/2026/05/26/the-gossage-cups-legacy-2/ which was published in the magazine recently).

He laughed when asked if he knew about the anniversaries of May 1^st and May 3^rd 1926. “Well, I have read what you posted,” he said. “It was a great source of information and education for me. Before then, I had no idea and that makes that subject very relevant. As a writer myself; as a historian myself; as one who comments on African football, I think it is a good thing that I came across what you wrote and I’m better informed about that aspect of our football development, our football groove and our football genesis – genesis of our football.”

The first edition of the Gossage Cup was played in Nairobi’s Landi Mawe Grounds in 1926 between Kenya and Uganda. Kenya won that edition 2-1 after a replay – the first match ended in a 1-1 draw. It lasted 40 years and eventually became the CECAFA Cup.

Its centenary deserves to be celebrated, especially as this was the first international tournament in the history of African football.

Odegbami Calls for Remembrance of Gossage Cup History

So, how important was that anniversary to African football?

“Well, you must appreciate that I was in West Africa and my personal experiences at the time were more limited to West Africa than any other part of Africa, so I didn’t know much about the rest of the continent, particularly central and east Africa. They were not really renowned for their footballing; they were more into athletics in those days, so to learn that the first international match [tournament] actually took place in East Africa is really a great surprise for me, but having said that, if the facts really are put, then it is worth celebrating. It is something that we should observe. It is something that we should bring to the remembrance of everybody, because that’s history. It is history. It is fact. It is figures. It is our past. It is our story and we should tell it, so I sincerely appreciate this knowledge that you have impacted in me right now.”

For further information see Segun Odegbami on CECAFA Cup Anniversary at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W69o7Fz7ONA.

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[1] Ghana won the tournament – their third title – Uganda finished second and Nigeria was third.