How Jay Jay Okocha, Obi Mikel got their famous names

Former Super Eagles captains Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and John Obi Mikel have opened up about the unexpected stories behind the names that became synonymous with their illustrious football careers.

The Nigerian legends shared the stories on the Obi One Podcast, revealing that neither of their famous footballing names began exactly as fans might have imagined.

How Okocha became ‘Jay Jay’

For Okocha, the name Jay Jay originated on the streets where he grew up playing football with his brothers.

According to the former Paris Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers star, football was essentially the children's favourite pastime because they had few other forms of entertainment.

“Well, I think it started all in the neighbourhood where we grew up. You know, all of us were footballers because we had no other toys. We were just on the street playing,” Okocha explained.

He said his brothers also played, creating the need to distinguish between the different Austins in the family.

“And my two brothers played as well, so we had a few Austins. So, to identify which Austin was which, they started calling me Austin Jay Jay’s brother.”

The nickname eventually followed him beyond the neighbourhood.

When Okocha travelled abroad, he discovered that people often struggled with the pronunciation of Augustine, making the shorter nickname considerably easier.

“So, from there, Austin Jay Jay stuck. So, when I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name, ‘Augustine’. So, ‘Jay Jay’ was a lot easier.”

Rather than resist the nickname, the football star decided to make it official.

“So, I said I might as well adopt the name, and I put it in my passport. Yeah, it’s in my passport now. It’s officially mine.”

‘Michael’ becomes ‘Mikel’

Mikel's story was far less deliberate.

The former Chelsea midfielder said his name was changed from Michael to Mikel during an Under-17 tournament when the players' names were being printed on their shirts.

“I changed my name. You remember the story? At the Under-17 tournament, when they went to print the names, I gave them Michael. They came back with Mikel,” he recalled.

Rather than complain about the apparent mistake, the midfielder decided to embrace it — particularly after the tournament turned out to be a success for him.

“And Mikel sounds better than Michael.”

“I had a fantastic tournament. I was like, you know what? I’m just gonna keep it.”

Like Okocha, Mikel eventually made the name official by putting it in his passport.

Two names, two remarkable careers

What began as a neighbourhood nickname in Okocha's case and what appears to have been a printing error in Mikel's case ultimately became part of Nigerian football history.

Jay Jay Okocha went on to become one of Africa's most celebrated entertainers on the pitch, while John Obi Mikel enjoyed a hugely successful career with Chelsea and Nigeria.

Interestingly, both men ended up doing the same thing with their adopted names: they put them in their passports and made them officially their own.