Lateef Omidiji

Last updated

Lateef Omidiji
Lateef Omidiji.jpg
Personal information
Full name Lateef Omotola Omidiji Jr.
Date of birth (2003-09-14) 14 September 2003 (age 20) [1]
Place of birth Las Vegas, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
FC Dordrecht
2017–2018 Feyenoord
2018–2020 Go Ahead Eagles
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021 UNLV Rebels 16 (1)
International career‡
United States U14
United States U15
United States U16
2018–2018 Nigeria U15
2019–???? Nigeria U17
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:45, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Lateef Omotola Omidiji Jr. (born 14 September 2003) is a soccer player who plays as a forward. [3] Born in the United States, he has represented both the US and Nigeria at youth international level.

Contents

Early and personal life

Omidiji was born in Las Vegas to a Nigerian father (who is Muslim) and an American mother. [4] [5] His sister is Sophia Omotola Omidiji. [5] [6] In June 2017 he described himself as a "straight A student" who had received an award from President Obama for his grades. [6]

Club career

Omidiji began his career at the age of 5 with the Rainbow Youth Soccer League in Las Vegas. [6] At the age of 10 he was described as a "soccer prodigy". [7]

He moved from FC Dordrecht to Feyenoord in 2017. [8] He later moved to Go Ahead Eagles. [9] [10]

In November 2020 it was announced that Omidiji had returned to the United States to attend high school in Las Vegas, and had signed a letter of intent with the UNLV Rebels. [2] [11] he scored 1 goal in 16 games in the 2021 season. [12]

International career

Omidiji is eligible to represent the United States and Nigeria. [13]

After representing the United States at under-14, under-15 and under-16 levels, he began playing for Nigeria under-15s in May 2018. [14] He is also eligible to represent the Netherlands. [6] In 2019 he was dropped by the Nigeria under-17s. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Nevada, Las Vegas</span> Public university in Paradise, Nevada, US

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The 332-acre (134 ha) campus is about 1.6 mi (2.6 km) east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the Shadow Lane Campus, just east of the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, which houses both School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine. UNLV's law school, the William S. Boyd School of Law, is the only law school in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of Southern Nevada</span> College in Clark County, Nevada, US

The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is a public community college in Clark County, Nevada. The college has more than 2,500 teaching and non-teaching staff and is the largest public college or university in Nevada. It is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cashman Field</span> Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada

Cashman Field is a stadium in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is primarily used for soccer as the home field of Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL Championship. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was the home of the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars/51s Minor League Baseball from 1983 to 2018, and home to the Vegas Vipers of the XFL in 2023. The stadium is connected to Cashman Center, an exhibit hall and theater operated by the City of Las Vegas. The complex, built on the site of a former stadium of the same name, is named for James "Big Jim" Cashman and his family, who have been Las Vegas entrepreneurs for several generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNLV Rebels football</span> Athletic program of the University of Nevada

The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The program, which began on September 14, 1968, plays its home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNLV Rebels</span> American athletic program of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The school's colors are scarlet and gray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNLV Rebels men's soccer</span> Soccer team representing the University of Las Vegas, Nevada

The UNLV Rebels men's soccer team represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The team currently competes in the Western Athletic Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Ruiz-Williams</span> US–born Mexican international footballer (born 1983)

Jennifer Marie Ruiz Brown, known in the United States as Jenny Ruiz-Williams, is a US-born Mexican football coach and former professional player who played as a defender. She is currently the head coach of the UNLV Rebels women's soccer team. As a player, Ruiz-Williams played for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Mexico women's national football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by fifth year head coach Dave Rice until he was fired on January 10, 2016. They were then led by interim head coach Todd Simon for the remainder of the season. They played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 8–10 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Air Force to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Fresno State.

Salvador Bernal Flores is a Mexican former footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Omotola Omidiji</span> Nigerian-American footballer

Sophia Omotola Omidiji is a Nigerian-American football player. She played for the Nigerian U-20 Women National team and is signed to Dutch Division I Club S.B.V. Excelsior after completing a switch from KAA Gent in Belgium in June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Dennis</span> Nigerian footballer (born 1997)

Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Watford, on loan from Nottingham Forest, and the Nigeria national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegiant Stadium</span> Domed multi-purpose stadium in Paradise, Nevada, U.S.

Allegiant Stadium is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in Paradise, Nevada, southwest of adjacent Las Vegas. Opened in 2020, it is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels college football team. The stadium also hosts the Vegas Kickoff Classic in early September and the Las Vegas Bowl in December. The stadium hosted Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024 and will host WrestleMania 41 in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada</span> US election

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the State of Nevada, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the Nevada gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the United States House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Primary elections were held on June 12, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolae Dumitrescu</span> Romanian footballer and manager

Nicolae "Coco" Dumitrescu was a Romanian footballer and manager. As a footballer, he played mainly as a forward and throughout his career, he won four Divizia A titles and two cups with ITA Arad and as a manager, he won two titles with the same team, also in the 1970–71 European Cup season they eliminated Feyenoord who were European champions at that time and for these performances he is considered a symbol of the club.

Daniel Musovski is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City National Arena</span> Ice hockey arena in Summerlin, Nevada.

City National Arena is the practice facility and team headquarters of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. City National Arena opened on September 18, 2017, and is located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. It contains the headquarters for the team, a team store, and a MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub restaurant, among other features. It is also the home venue for the UNLV Rebels hockey program, the Las Vegas Thunderbirds, the Vegas Jesters of the Mountain West Hockey League, and the Junior Golden Knights.

Tyler M. Allen is an American soccer player who plays for FC Tucson in the USL League One.

Desi-Rae Yvonne Young is an American college basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Young attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where she played center on the UNLV Lady Rebels basketball team and studies Social Work.

Jesus Partida is an American soccer player who currently plays as a midfielder.

Robin Lapert is a French professional footballer who plays for Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship.

References

  1. ↑ "Meet 15-yr old wonder kid who turned down America to play for Nigeria". Pulse Nigeria. 21 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Las Vegas Native, International Standout Lateef Omidiji Jr Signs With Rebels". University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics. 11 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Lateef Omidiji Jr hangs out with Neymar, Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  4. ↑ "Lateef Omidiji, who once played soccer in his home country of Nigeria, speaks about his son, 10-year-old Lateef Omidiji Jr., with the Review-Journal before Omidiji Jr.'s soccer practice at Russell …". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  5. 1 2 Yusuf Akinlotan (5 September 2017). "Revelation of 14-year-old Nigerian American wonder kid that may lead Golden Eaglets in 2019". iWitness. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Remi Sulola (26 June 2017). "INTERVIEW: Nothing scares me on the football pitch, I'm like a pit bull, says Omidiji Jnr". The Cable. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Las Vegas soccer prodigy, 10, in scouts' sights". 18 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Feyenoord troeft Engelse topclubs af en trekt Omidiji (13) aan" (in Dutch). FR12. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Nottingham Forest could miss out on highly-rated striker, here's why – opinion". Vital Nottingham Forest. 7 May 2019.
  10. ↑ "Trainingsstage voor jeugdspeler Lateef Omidiji bij Nigeria Onder-17". 16 February 2019.
  11. ↑ Mills, Sadë (11 November 2020). "International standout Lateef Omidiji Jr. signs with Rebels men's soccer team". KSNV.
  12. ↑ "Lateef Omidiji Jr - Men's Soccer". University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics.
  13. ↑ "Lateef Omidiji Jr.: Meet the 12-year-old prodigy that could spark a bidding war between Nigeria and the US | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  14. ↑ Shina Oludare (25 May 2018). "Feyenoord prodigy Lateef Omidiji Jr. gets Nigeria U15 call-up". Goal.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  15. ↑ "Go Ahead Eagles' Lateef Omidiji Dropped From Nigeria U17 Roster After Failing To Impress Coaches :: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.