The interesting story of how Okocha earned the nickname 'Jay-Jay'

Austin Jay-Jay Okocha is one of the most famous and widely known names in Nigerian football and the world at large.

The name rings a bell to every football lover born no later than the first decade of the 21st century.

The popular story is that “he was so good, they named him twice”. Well, that is not entirely true.

Okocha's real name given to him by his parents at birth is Augustine Azuka Okocha.

However, he earned the nickname Jay-Jay from his elder brothers James Okocha and Emmanuel Okocha who were both footballers.

Okocha, just like many successful footballers, began playing football on the streets.

"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!" Okocha told the BBC in an interview.

His immediate elder brother, Emma Okocha, revealed that the name Jay-Jay stems from their senior brother James Okocha whose football career was cut short by injuries.

Emma Okocha, who featured for Enugu Rangers and the Super Eagles explained that the name was a coinage from James (and was called “Jay”, then “Jay Jay” from his initials).

Emma, who took over the reins from James to represent Nigeria in the 1990 AFCON where he scored Nigeria’s consolation goal in the opening game against Algeria.

From the heroics of James Okocha, Emmanuel Okocha during his playing days was described as the Emma, the brother of “Jay Jay” (James), for short, “Emma Jay Jay”.

The youngest of the Okocha brothers, Austin, grew up to inherit the name Jay-Jay as he followed the foot steps of his brothers

Like Emmanuel, Austin also featured for Enugu Rangers where he garnered the much-needed experience before securing a move abroad.

According to Emmanuel, just like himself, grassroots admirers described Austine as the brother of Jay Jay (James Okocha), Austine Jay Jay.

The name Jay-Jay stuck up to date as it has become a household name for football followers across the globe.

Austin Okocha, the luckiest of the three brothers went ahead to pursue his football dream in Europe where he featured for Borussia Neunkirchen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bolton Wanderers where he earned most of his accolades.

He became one of the most skillful and talented players the world has ever seen and is still regarded as one of the greatest players in Africa's history.

Austin Okocha won 73 caps for the Super Eagles, scoring 14 goals for his country.

WDN