Hon. Bukola Olopade, Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), has been awarded the Southwest Sports Icon of the Year Award at the 2025 Synergy Meritorious Awards, for his tireless efforts in promoting sports development across the country.
The award recognizes Hon. Olopade’s outstanding and long-standing contributions to sports development across the Southwest region and Nigeria as a whole.
A tireless visionary, Hon. Olopade’s journey in sports leadership drew national applause as the Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Ogun State in 2006, a role he held with distinction for eight years. During his tenure, he introduced several groundbreaking initiatives that elevated youth and sports development across Ogun state and the Southwest region, setting the foundation for what has become a model of innovation in grassroots sports governance.Beyond the public sector, Hon. Olopade continued his impact in the private sports industry, championing initiatives that bridged public-private partnerships and strengthened sports business ecosystems across Nigeria.
His efforts helped transform sports into a platform for empowerment, unity, and economic growth.
Today, as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Olopade, working closely with the NSC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, is leading a bold national drive to revitalize and professionalize the Nigerian sports industry. Under his leadership, the NSC has launched key reform initiatives aimed at repositioning sports as a major contributor to national development and economic diversification.
