Michael Okoth Origi (born 16 November 1967) is a Kenyan retired

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 ...

. Initially playing as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

he converted to a striker at

Shabana Shabana is a feminine given name. People named Shabana include: *Shabana (actress), Bangladeshi actress * Shabana (dancer), a Pakistani dancer killed by the Taliban * Shabana Akhtar, Pakistani athlete *Shabana Azmi, Indian actress *Shabana Bakhsh ...

, a position that he would feature in for both club and country. He spent most of his professional career in Belgium, while at international level he represented the

Kenya national football team The Kenya national football team represents Kenya in international football. It is controlled by the Football Kenya Federation, the governing body football in Kenya, and competes as a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and ...

on 48 occasions between 1989 and 2004, scoring 17 goals. He is the father of Belgian international footballer,

Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AC Milan and the Belgium national team. Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A ...

Club career

Okoth started his football career with Itierio Secondary School from where he was spotted by Shabana. He would feature for Shabana in the Kenyan Super League and at continental level in the African Champions Cup. In 1992, he moved to

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

i club Al Boshar and after the Africa Cup of Nations K.V. Oostende of the Belgian Second Division. He would experience success with Racing Club Genk winning the

1998–99 Belgian First Division The 1998–99 season of the Jupiler League was held between August 21, 1998, and May 16, 1999. Racing Genk became champions. Promoted teams These teams were promoted from the second division at the start of the season: * Oostende (second divi ...

and the 1999-00 Belgian Cup. Okoth would end his career in 2006 playing in the

Belgian Third Division The Belgian Third Division ( nl, Derde klasse, french: Division III) was the third highest level in Belgian football. It had two leagues of 18 teams each ( A and B) at the same level. This competition, originally known as the Belgian Promotion ...

with K.S.K. Tongeren and later with Cobox 76.

International career

Okoth earned his first international call up in the

1989 CECAFA Cup The 1989 CECAFA Cup was the 16th edition of the tournament. It was held in Kenya, and was won by Uganda. The matches were played between December 2–16. Kenya sent two teams: Kenya A and Kenya B team. Group A Group B Semi-fina ...

turning out for a Kenya 'B' team. He would represent the Harambee Stars in the Africa Cup of Nations in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, 1992 and 2004.

Personal life

Okoth is of

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

ethnicity. His older brother Austin "Makamu" Oduor Origi was a defender and captain for

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly also known as ''K'Ogalo'' (), is a football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 19 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. They are the o ...

and the Kenya national football team. His younger brothers would also feature in the Kenya Super League, Anthony Origi for Kenya Breweries and Gerald Origi for Utalii FC. Arnold Origi, his nephew and son to Austin Oduor is a

for Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

side

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

and the Kenya national team. His son

is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Origi, Mike 1967 births Living people People from Murang'a Men's association football forwards Kenyan men's footballers Kenyan expatriate men's footballers Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Oman Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Oman Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Tusker F.C. players K.V. Oostende players K.R.C. Genk players R.W.D. Molenbeek (1909) players K.R.C. Zuid-West-Vlaanderen players K.S.K. Tongeren players Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Kenya men's international footballers 1990 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Shabana F.C. players