Oluwatoyin Ibitoye Honoured as 2025 FUBS Personality of the Year

Amiable sports journalist Oluwatoyin Ibitoye has formally received the 2025 Family United by Sport (FUBS) Personality of the Year award.

The presentation ceremony was held on Monday at the HotSports Limited studios in Lagos, with sports entrepreneur Taye Ige serving as chief host.

The event drew members of the foremost sports online platform in Nigeria, alongside friends, family, and colleagues of Ibitoye, who previously served as Media Officer of the Nigeria national football team.

Chairman of the FUBS Personality of the Year Electoral Committee, Kweku Tandoh, detailed the transparent election process to the gathering. He explained that FUBS has over 300 members worldwide, including three former sports ministers, three Directors General of the sports ministry, presidents of sporting federations, sports editors, managers, and other high-level stakeholders.

Dr. Tandoh commended former Nigeria Football Federation vice-president Seyi Akinwunmi and his team for establishing the electoral framework that guided the process.

“It was a very close contest and Toyin ticked all the criteria listed for a member to emerge as the FUBS Personality of the Year,” Dr. Tandoh said.

Host of the event and CEO of HotSports Limited, Taye Ige, revealed he accepted to host the ceremony at short notice because of the personalities involved, describing FUBS Chief Administrator Godwin Enakhena and Ibitoye as individuals he holds in high esteem.

Earlier, Enakhena thanked FUBS members and urged journalists to investigate issues thoroughly and avoid branding all Nigerian sports administrators negatively, stressing that integrity still exists within the system.

Ibitoye, who attended the ceremony with his wife Tola, expressed amazement at the calibre of nominees he competed against — noting that he had personally nominated one of them.

The former aide to the sports minister encouraged openness in leadership and relationships: “The man you are planning to deal with because he has an opposing view on a minor issue may turn out to be your main supporter in a much bigger issue tomorrow.”

In addition to a commemorative plaque, Ibitoye received a ₦250,000 cash prize and a return flight ticket to Abuja aboard ValueJet.

He becomes the seventh recipient of the prestigious honour. Previous winners include the late Dapo Sotuminu (2018), Shehu Dikko (2019), Abba Yola (2020), Chris Emeruwa (2021), Daniel Igali (2022), and Liameed Gafar (2023). The award rested in 2024 in honour of Sotuminu, who passed away just as that year’s election process commenced.

With the 2025 recognition, Ibitoye joins a distinguished list of sports personalities celebrated for their impact, professionalism, and service to Nigerian sports.

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.

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