I’m still paying royalties for my name – Jay Jay Okocha

Super Eagles legend Austin Okocha has revealed the real story behind the iconic ‘Jay Jay’ name that became synonymous with him during his playing career, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 1996 Olympic gold medal winner with the Dream Team enjoyed a remarkable career and became famous around the world for his tricks, flair and entertaining style of play.

Although his original name is Augustine Azuka Okocha, he became widely known as Jay Jay Okocha across Nigeria and across the rest of the world.

The former Paris Saint Germain star made more than 450 appearances for clubs across all competitions, scoring 102 goals while playing in several positions. He also scored 14 goals in 73 appearances for the Super Eagles.

Okocha won one Africa Cup of Nations gold medal, one silver and three bronze medals with Nigeria.

However, the Nigerian football icon, who explained the reason behind his decision to leave PSG for Bolton, has now revealed how he got the name that has followed him throughout his career.

Jay Jay Okocha explains how he got his famous name

Speaking during an episode of the Obi One Podcast, the former Super Eagles superstar revealed that the nickname started while he was playing football with his friends and brothers in his neighbourhood.

According to Okocha, several people around him were called Austin, which is a shortened version of Augustine and the nickname ‘Jay Jay’ was therefore introduced to distinguish him from the other Austins.

“I think it started in the neighbourhood where we grew up. All of us were footballers because we had no other toy”, the Super Eagles legend revealed.

“We were just on the street playing and my two brothers played as well. So we had a few Austins then. So to identify which Austin is which, they started calling Austin Jay Jay’s brother and from there Austin Jay Jay stuck.

“When I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name Augustine and Jay Jay was a lot easier. I said I might as well adopt the name and I put it in my passport and it’s officially mine.

“I’m still paying royalties for my name to my brothers”, he added.

Okocha went on to enjoy an illustrious career, representing clubs including Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, Paris Saint Germain and Bolton Wanderers before calling time on his playing career in 2012.