Former Super Eagles midfielder Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has disclosed that his famous nickname ‘Jay-Jay’ originally belonged to his older brother.

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He stated that the nickname stuck because multiple people in his family and street environment went by Austin.

Childhood Origins

He later adopted it officially on his passport because Europeans struggled to pronounce his birth name, Augustine.

However, in an interview with the Obi One Podcast, Okocha jokingly stated that he still owes and pays royalties to his older brother for taking his good luck charm of a name.

International Adoption

“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.

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