{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mathematical 7","provider_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7","title":"SOCA \u2013 the school of sports excellence! - Mathematical 7","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"sHRtKhCFyp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/soca-the-school-of-sports-excellence\/\">SOCA \u2013 the school of sports excellence!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/soca-the-school-of-sports-excellence\/embed\/#?secret=sHRtKhCFyp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;SOCA \u2013 the school of sports excellence!&#8221; &#8212; Mathematical 7\" data-secret=\"sHRtKhCFyp\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/logo_2-e1559907511147.png","thumbnail_width":250,"thumbnail_height":289,"description":"Two very significant things happened in my life in the year 2005. The first is that I went to the United States of America to participate in my first World Scholar-Athletes games, an assembly of secondary school pupils from over 150 countries in various disciplines of sports coming together to celebrate the true essence of sports \u2013 that every participant is a winner. The second thing is that I turned the sod and laid the foundation stone of SOCA, the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy (originally called The International Sports Academy, TIA). At the games, there were no individual medals to be won. The teams were set up in a mix of students from different countries interested in a particular sport. The new teams now played against each other in matches that only celebrated participation, teamwork, honesty, good conduct, fair play, friendship and leadership. Individual performances, although well appreciated, were not rewarded with medals or trophies, whilst all the participants were celebrated and given medals common to all. In addition to the actual, very competitive games there were also very robust intellectual workshops held at intervals during the period with very interesting resource persons across various sectors of human endeavour to pry open interesting global issues. The conversations were designed to provide invaluable information, to stimulate discussion, interrogate issues, throw light on different perspectives and guide young students on the opportunities available to fully participate in the global games of life, driven by the engine of sports.   Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker on the final day. That was my first close encounter with the former United States president. Along with him, there were several other international scholars and famous athletes that made presentations and had an open house with the global audience of students and all the other participants. It was an eye-opener for me. At one of the sessions I listened to Dr Jubril Diallo, a Senegalese, head of a unit in the United Nations Organisation freshly given the responsibility to introduce sport as a new tool to drive the attainment of aspects of the Millennium Development Goals that had to do with eradicating hunger, illiteracy, poverty, disease, and HIV\/AIDS in the world by the year 2015! During that particular session, I saw for the first time, very clearly, how sports could become a very powerful instrument in the globalization of humanity as propounded and presented by President Clinton. Getting back to Nigeria that year, I set about taking my thoughts and idea about establishing an institution that would make a meaningful, measurable, and effective contribution to attaining those lofty global objectives in my local environment to the realm of actualization."}