Jay-Jay Okocha

Okocha was born in Enugu, Enugu State. The name "Jay-Jay" was passed down from his elder brother James, who started playing football first; his immediate elder brother, Emmanuel was also called Emma Jay-Jay, but the name stuck with him instead. He began playing football on the streets just like many other football stars, usually with a makeshift ball. In an interview with BBC Sport he said, "As far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!" In 1990, he joined Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays, including one where he rounded off and scored a goal against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper Willy Okpara in a match against BCC Lions of Gboko. Later that year, he went on holiday to West Germany, the country that had just won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, so he could watch German league football. His friend Binebi Numa was playing in the Third Division for Borussia Neunkirchen, and one morning Okocha accompanied Numa to training, where he asked to join in. The Neunkirchen coach was impressed with Okocha's skills and invited him back the next day before offering him a contract. A year later, he joined 1. FC Saarbrücken, but stayed only a few months with the 2. Bundesliga side before a move to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Okocha joined Eintracht Frankfurt in December 1991,…

Okocha made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993. It was not until his second cap and home debut that he became a favourite with the Nigerian supporters. With Nigeria trailing 1–0 against Algeria, in a match they needed to win, he scored from a direct free kick to equalise, before helping the team to a 4–1 win, eventually securing qualification to their first World Cup. In 1994, he was a member of both the victorious 1994 African Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad who made it to the second round before losing a dramatic match against eventual runners-up Italy; during the latter match, he set a World Cup record for most dribbles completed during a single match (15). In 1996, Okocha became a key member of an arguably more successful Nigerian side, their Olympic gold winning side at the Atlanta Games, later nicknamed the "Dream Team" by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympics gold winning basketball team, as they overcame Brazil in the semi-finals, before coming back from 2–0 down to 3–2 up against Argentina in the final. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Okocha played for a disappointing Super Eagles side who failed to live up to expectations, again reaching the round of 16, albeit with less impressive performances save for their 3–2 opening win against Spain. This did not destroy interest in Okocha, who had entertained fans with his trademark skills and dribbles and went on to be named…

A quick, talented, agile, and skilful playmaker, Okocha usually played as an attacking midfielder, and is widely considered by pundits internationally as the best Nigerian footballer ever, and as one of the best African players of all time. Okocha was known for his confidence and clever trickery with the ball, technique, creativity, flair, close control, and smooth dribbling skills, as well as his turn of pace and his use of feints, in particular his version of the stepover (nicknamed the Okocha stepover) and his trademark turns. In 2012, Allan Jiang of Bleacher Report rated Okocha as one of the greatest dribblers of all time. Due to his range of passing, Okocha was capable of creating chances for teammates; he was also known for his ability to produce long throw-ins. While not being particularly prolific or consistent in his finishing or goalscoring, Okocha, possessed a powerful shot from long range and was an effective free-kick taker, which saw him score some spectacular and ingenious goals through his career. Due to his skill and nickname, he was described as being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers). He is still remembered by Fenerbahçe fans as one of the legends of the club and the Turkish football league. In addition to being an inspiration for many other African footballers, such as Asamoah Gyan, Okocha also was a major influence on the playing style of several other footballers across…

In late 2014 Okocha was added to the FIFA football game series as a "Legend" which honours his years as a great footballer. Okocha was elected as the Chair of the Delta State Football Association on 21 February 2015. In April 2015, he expressed his interest in becoming the president of the Nigeria Football Federation. On 15 May 2016, Okocha played in a charity match as part of "Team John McGinlay" against "Team Tony Kelly" at the Macron Stadium and scored a hat-trick in his team's 6–2 win.

In June 2019, it was reported that Okocha had been charged with alleged money laundering in Scotland. Okocha has served as a football pundit for African sports broadcaster, Supersports since 2019, providing analysis for major tournaments, including the African Cup of Nations and the European championships. On 14 November 2021, Okocha played in a charity match as part of a team of Bolton Wanderers Legends against the current Bolton first team, with the match helping to raise money for the mother of Bolton player Gethin Jones, after she was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. The Bolton first team won 7–4, with Okocha scoring a penalty for the Legends team. In an interview he told why he never played for big clubs like Real Madrid was because of wage issues and racism. He also told them that the money they offer him was like they were doing him a favour. On 11 June 2026, Okocha finally received the Player of the Match award for Nigeria's 3–2 victory over Spain at the 1998 FIFA World Cup,…