A review of Akindeji Olorunyolemi’s book, ‘My Football Walkabouts on Facebook,’ by Kunle Oladele.
“MY Football Walkabouts on Facebook” authoured by Akindeji Olorunyolemi and published by Lord Keynes Publishing Company Limited in the year 2024, is a collection of materials from the pages of Facebook on football, footballers, managers, and related events, dedicated to two great players who have made the round-leather game thick in the present generation.
First let me confess that this is my first outing in book review, interestingly, the book is on a topic that I know very little about. However, as I read through the pages of the book, I realised the author had scored a masterstroke in converting a football novice like me, to a learner and an aspiring lover of football. I appreciate him for that.
This 321-page book is a compendium of information on football largely sourced from Facebook pages on notable players, managers, handlers, actors, heroes, events, history-makers and issues of primary concerns regarding football. The author presents football-related online materials in a written perspective with a view to enrich the options of the readers, especially on having offline access to such materials. Hehas compiled sun-dry football stories of mixed contents with pictorial presentations of football characters and activities across the world covering a period of time and for the reading pleasure of football lovers. The book also captured many touchpoints on leading footballers who were selected on the basis of the priority attention they received on social media platforms.
As a matter of fact, football is mainly about footballers and other stakeholders whose combined roles define the game. This book presents interesting information and materials on the world’s most popular sport in a readable form showcasing profiles, images, and opinions on selected players, managers, coaches,and presidents. In this book, there are facts and figures on the soccer world. Knowing that a book is a medium for sharing valuable ideas with people, My Football Walkabouts on Facebook offers those who are not aware or familiar with the availability of such resources on the Internet the opportunity to read up same materials on the pages of this book.
The first 108 pages of the book showcases the profiles and brightly images of world-renowned footballers in different clubs and teams across the globe. The players are presented in dedicated pages consisting of each player’s major quotes, thoughts and opinions on their career adventures. It also features shades of opinions of club managers, presidents, colleagues, teammates and other notable stakeholders in the sport as well as their victories and losses on the field.
From page 109, the book shifts attention to present selected club coaches, managers and presidents in their current and previous engagements. This section of the book gives the readers insights into the thoughts and idiosyncrasies of characters who have administered and shaped the growth and performance of football at club, national and international levels.
The book captures some exciting moments and developments regarding the 2022 World Cup event in Qatar being the first ever World Cup hosted by an Arab country. The book revealed many out-of-the-field unique issues that defined the tournament. For instance, the capability of the host country to employ technology to convert the extreme weather at a peak of about 5000C (1220F) to generate electricity to power electric fans that cool the environment. The book also mentioned the intersection between the game of football and the Arab country’s culture especially as it concerns the consumption of alcohol. The book highlights many exciting moments at the 2022 World Cup such as the President of France, Emmanuel Macron cheerleading the French team and consoling Kylian Mbappe following the loss of the team to the Argentines in the final.
For every project, there is always room for improvement. The same is true for this book under review.
The arrangement of the allotted pages to individual characters are not clearly separated, some readers may find it challenging knowing where each section begins and ends.
The subject of the book is quite dynamic and rapidly changing, therefore the book and its contents may become static and stale if not constantly reviewed.
It is also noteworthy that the book did not give much attention to African football and footballers, notwithstanding the level of the development of the sport on the continent.This could be because the author relied mainly on Facebook with little consideration of other sources.
No doubt, the author, Akindeji Olorunyolemi is an avid lover of football, who once laced his boots for his schoolteam, he continues to demonstrate his love for the sport by producing this book.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that the book has filled a void. Deji has chosen a great medium to engage lovers of football by putting together this interesting treatise. I congratulate him and hereby recommend “My Football Walkabouts on Facebook” for the reading pleasure of all football enthusiasts and the general public.
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