Stanley Osaretin Okoro (born 8 December 1992) 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 le ...

who plays as a winger or

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Career

Born in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

, Okoro finished his graduation with

Heartland FC Heartland Football Club founded as Spartans F.C., later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale from 1985 to 2006 is a Nigerian football club based in Owerri. The team play their home games at Dan Anyiam Stadium (but currently use the new Okigwe Stadium ...

, after spells with River Lane FC and National Grammar School. He made his senior debuts with the former in 2009. On 14 April 2010, Okoro joined UD Almeria in Spain, signing a four-year contract. He was initially assigned to the ''Juvenil'' squad, being promoted to the reserves in the following year. In July 2013, Okoro moved to

Bulgarian A Professional Football Group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

side

Cherno More Varna Cherno More ( bg, Черно Море) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on March 3, 1913, as an assoc ...

in a season-long loan deal. He played his first match as a professional on 3 August, starting in a 0–0 draw at

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

, and scored his first goal on 11 December, netting the first of a 2–0 win at

Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...

. On 29 May 2014, Okoro was promoted to the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

ns' main squad for the pre-season, but returned to the B-side in August. Released in the summer of 2015, he returned to his nation in 2016, signing for

Abia Warriors FC Abia Warriors Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in the city of Umuahia, Abia state. Between 2005 and 2010, they played under the name "Orji Uzor Kalu FC" in honor of Abia governor Orji Uzor Kalu who helped the club with ...

. On 7 May 2017, Okoro joined fellow

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

side Plateau United FC, but was released on 28 September.

International career

Okoro appeared with the under-17 team at the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...

, playing his first match in the tournament in a 3–3 draw against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and scoring his side's first goal through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in the 54th minute. He subsequently scored against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and was a starter in the eventual 0–1 final loss to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On 29 August 2010, Okoro was called up to the main squad, replacing injured Joseph Akpala for a

2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification This page details the process of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification phase. Forty-six African nations, including hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, entered the competition. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea automatically qualified as host count ...

match against

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. He made his debut on 5 September, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Michael Eneramo Michael Eneramo (born 26 November 1985) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Eneramo began his career with Lobi Stars and was in 2004 scouted by Tunisian top club Espérance Sportive de Tunis, he ...

in a 2–0 win at the ''

U. J. Esuene Stadium The U. J. Esuene Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Calabar, Nigeria. It is used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''footbal ...

''.

Personal life

Okoro's older brothers,

Osas Owsa ( fa, اوسا), also known as Osā and Osās, is a village in Kuhdasht-e Gharbi Rural District, in the Central District of Miandorud County, Mazandaran Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and al ...

and Charles, are also footballers.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okoro, Stanley 1992 births Living people Footballers from Enugu Nigerian footballers Association football wingers Association football forwards Heartland F.C. players Plateau United F.C. players Segunda División B players UD Almería B players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players PFC Cherno More Varna players Nigerian expatriate footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Nigeria international footballers Abia Warriors F.C. players