Jaycee John "JoJo" Okwunwanne (born 8 October 1985) is a Nigerian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who was naturalized to represent

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

internationally and plays as a striker. He started his youth career with Osaka Lagos and was coached by Nigerian exinternational Kingsley Osakwe. A globetrotter,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

is the seventh country Okwunwanne has played in.

Career

Okwunwanne grew up in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Nigeria, and played for Osaka Lagos. Aged 19, he moved to Bahrain. After a strong fifth season in Bahrain, he went to Belgium to play for

Excelsior Mouscron Royal Excelsior Mouscron was a Belgian football club from the municipality of Mouscron, Hainaut. In December 2009 they were declared bankrupt and soon ceased to exist. A new club known as Royal Excel Mouscron was formed in March 2010 and place ...

in the top division where he played a solid role. In December 2009, he became a free agent after his club

R.E. Mouscron Royal Excelsior Mouscron was a Football in Belgium, Belgian football club from the municipality of Mouscron, Hainaut (province), Hainaut. In December 2009 they were declared bankrupt and soon ceased to exist. A new club known as Royal Excel Mous ...

went into bankruptcy and had to release their players. He went over to sign a one-year contract in Turkey with Eskisehirspor in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

. In January 2011, he transferred to the

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

team

Al Jahra Al Jahra ( ar, الجهراء) is a town and city located west of the centre of Kuwait City in Kuwait. Al Jahra is the capital of the Al Jahra Governorate of Kuwait as well as the surrounding Al Jahra District which is agriculturally based. Ency ...

. Then he joined

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

i club Al Kharitiyat. In 2015, he joined Thai club

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลทรู แบงค็อก ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani province. Formerly known as Bangkok University Foot ...

after spells for Al Kharitiyat and Al-Mesaimeer.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bahrain's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* *https://us.soccerway.com/players/jaycee-john-akwani/69489/ 1985 births Living people Igbo sportspeople Nigerian footballers Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Bahraini footballers Bahrain international footballers Association football forwards Royal Excel Mouscron players Eskişehirspor footballers Al Jahra SC players Konyaspor footballers Al Kharaitiyat SC players Mesaimeer SC players Jaycee John Okwunwanne Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players Jaycee John Okwunwanne Qatar Stars League players Qatari Second Division players Bahraini Premier League players Kuwait Premier League players Asian Games competitors for Bahrain 2007 AFC Asian Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Expatriate footballers in Kuwait Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Thailand {{Bahrain-footy-bio-stub