Nigerian football legend Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha has revealed how the nickname that became synonymous with his illustrious career originated from his childhood.
Okocha explained that the name was not created because of his football exploits but came from his early days growing up in a neighbourhood where football was the major form of entertainment.
According to the former Super Eagles captain, several members of his family played football, making it difficult to distinguish between him and one of his brothers, who was also named Austin.
“It all started in the neighbourhood, where we grew up. All of us were footballers, because we had no other toy. We were just on the street,” Okocha explained.
He added: “My two brothers played as well, so we had two Austin then.”
The situation eventually prompted people around them to find a way of identifying the two Austins.
“So to identify which Austin, they started calling me Austin Jay-Jay’s brother,” he recalled.
The nickname became even more useful when Okocha moved abroad and people struggled to pronounce his full name, Augustine.
“When I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name Augustine, so Jay-Jay was a lot easier,” he said.
Rather than resist the name, Okocha decided to make it official.
“So I said I might as well adopt the name, and I put it in my passport and that’s it, to make it official,” he revealed.
He ended the story jokingly, saying: “But I still pay royalties to my brothers.”
Okocha went on to enjoy a distinguished career with clubs including Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers.
For Nigeria, he made 73 appearances and scored 14 goals between 1993 and 2006. He won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and Olympic gold with the Dream Team at Atlanta ’96.
