Sports
Nigerian Football Star, Jay-Jay Okocha Turns 52 Today
Augustine Azuka “Jay-Jay” Okocha born 14 August 1973, Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder turns 52 today.
He had 73 caps for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 goals, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and one of the most influential dribblers in World football history.
He played across multiple leagues, starting his career at Enugu Rangers in the Nigerian Professional Football League before moving to Borussia Neunkirchen in the Oberliga Südwest, Germany’s third division, in July 1990.
He played in the Bundesliga, Süper Lig, Ligue 1, Premier League, EFL Championship, and Qatar Stars League before his retirement in 2008.
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 the globe, including German playmaker Mesut Özil,as well Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho, whom Okocha played alongside during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain.
Okocha became known as the “African Maradona” in the media, due to his skill and decisive performances for his country.
Despite his ability, however, he was also known for being inconsistent, and for his lack of tactical discipline on the pitch.
The build-up to the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony is officially underway as the organisers began unveiling the rankings on their official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday afternoon.
Kicking off the list at 30th place is Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, followed by Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen at 29th, and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk in 28th. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice sits at 27th, while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland narrowly misses the top 25, landing in 26th place.
The partial list, also shared by football journalist Fabrizio Romano, has already ignited fan debates online, especially surrounding Olise’s placement. The French winger delivered an outstanding 2024–25 season for Bayern, registering 12 goals and 15 assists, making his relatively low ranking a point of contention.
The full top 30 list is expected to be released in stages throughout the day.
The Ballon d’Or 2025 ceremony is set to take place later today in Paris, where the world’s top footballer will be officially crowned.
Sports
Super Falcons Onome Ebi retires from football
Though I hang up my boots, my purpose in the game continues, to give back, to guide, and to be a voice for players.
Legendary Super Falcons defender, Onome Ebi, on Wednesday officially announced her retirement from professional football.
Her career spanned over two decades with Nigeria’s women’s national team.
Ebi announced her decision in a post on her X account: “Today, I officially retire from professional football. The journey has been filled with challenges, victories, and lessons that shaped me into who I am today.
“Though I hang up my boots, my purpose in the game continues, to give back, to guide, and to be a voice for players.”
Widely regarded as one of Africa’s greatest female footballers, the 42-year-old centre-back boasts an illustrious record at both continental and global levels.
Preparations for Nigeria’s Flying Eagles ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup have been affected by the withdrawal of several key players.
Top European clubs, including France’s Stade Reims and Germany’s Hoffenheim, have refused to release their Nigerian players for the tournament in Chile, which is not scheduled on FIFA’s official calendar — giving clubs the right to withhold players from international duty.
As a result, Hoffenheim duo Emmanuel Chukwu and Precious Benjamin, along with Stade Reims striker Ibrahim Hafiz, will miss the tournament. All three were considered key prospects for the national team.
In response, head coach Aliyu Zubairu has named a revised 21-man squad that excludes several overseas-based players. Domestic talents like Enyimba winger Clinton Jephta, Bidemi Amole, and Divine Oliseh — who featured in the U-20 WAFU B qualifiers in Togo — were also left out of the final list.
Team captain Daniel Bameyi leads the squad, which includes more than 10 players who participated in recent training camps and friendlies. New additions include Israel Ayuma, Ebenezer Harcourt, Charles Agada, Auwal Ibrahim, Kparobo Arierhi, Tahir Maigana, and Odinaka Okoro.
Meanwhile, dependable fullback Adamu Maigari has been ruled out due to a knee injury.
The team departed Abuja for Chile on Sunday night. Norway-based midfielder Daniel Daga is expected to join the squad later, ahead of their opening match.
Nigeria, runners-up in 1989 and 2005, will be aiming to win their first-ever FIFA U-20 World Cup title. The tournament kicks off on September 27 and runs through October 20. The Flying Eagles were eliminated in the quarter-finals by South Korea at the last edition in Argentina.
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