Kenneth Karim Otigba (born 29 August 1992) is a Nigerian-born Hungarian

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 last played for Vasas as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. At international level, he has represented Hungary national team

Club career

Heerenveen

Otigba was born in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

, Nigeria. He made his debut for

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

on 16 December 2012 against

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, coming on a 75th-minute substitute in a 3–1 loss. On 30 August 2014, Otigba gave an assist to

Mark Uth Mark-Alexander Uth (born 24 August 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln. At the international level, he played for the Germany national team. Once-capped by Germany U20 in 2010, Uth ...

to beat FC Utrecht 3–1 in the 2014–15 Eredivisie. On 13 December 2014, Otigba gave an assist to Uth to beat NAC Breda 2–0 at the

Rat Verlegh Stadion The Rat Verlegh Stadion () is a multi-purpose stadium in Breda, Netherlands. The stadium is the home of the association football club NAC Breda (1996 to present). It was formerly known as FUJIFILM Stadium (1996–2003) and Mycom Stadium (2003� ...

in Breda,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the 2014–15 Eredivisie. On 7 January 2015, Otigba was chosen to be in the best team of December of the 2014–15 Eredivisie. In August 2016, Otigba joined Kasımpaşa S.K. on loan for the 2016–17 with an option for Kasımpaşa to sign him permanently.

Ferencváros

On 5 June 2017, it was announced that an agreement was reached between

and

Ferencvárosi TC Ferencvárosi Torna Club, known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, or simply FTC, is a professional football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Ferencváros ...

in connection with the signing of Otigba. By signing Otigba, Ferencváros ended a two-year long project since on 14 December 2015 it was announced that Ferencváros showed interest in signing him. On 16 June 2020, he became champion with Ferencváros by beating

Budapest Honvéd FC Budapest Honvéd Football Club (), commonly known as Budapest Honvéd or simply Honvéd, is a Hungarian sports club based in Kispest, Budapest, with the colours of red and black. The club is best known for its football team. ''Honvéd'' means th ...

at the

Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Józsefváros, Budapest, Hungary. The stadium was opened on 13 October 2016. It was renamed after the MTK Budapest and Hungary footballer Nándor Hidegkuti (1922–2002). It is currently use ...

on the 30th match day of the

2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (also known as 2019–20 OTP Bank Liga), also known as NB I, was the 121st season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league was officially named '' OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. Ferencváros were the ...

season.

International career

Having represented Hungary U-21 as a youth player, he refused

Pál Dárdai Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a Hungarian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and last coached Hertha BSC. In a 20-year professional career, he played for over a decade with the same club, Hertha BSC, in Ger ...

's invitation to represent

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

at the adult team saying he would choose

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

instead. However, in 2018, he reconsidered himself and chose to play for the national team, making his debut in the friendly match against Kazakhstan.

Personal life

Otigba was born in Nigeria to a Hungarian mother and a Nigerian father, he moved to Hungary with his mother at age five and spent his childhood in Gyula. Otigba said in an interview with the Hungarian

Nemzeti Sport ''Nemzeti Sport'' (the title means "National Sport") is a Hungarian sports daily. History and profile ''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. The paper is owned by Ringier of Switzerland. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The ...

that "I'm a very lucky chap" when he was asked about his partner, Dutch singer and model Sanne Verbeek, a.k.a. Ayden. Verbeek participated in the

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

in 2013.

Career statistics

References

External links

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Voetbal International profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otigba, Kenneth Karim 1992 births Footballers from Kaduna Living people Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers Hungary men's youth international footballers Nigerian men's footballers Hungarian people of Nigerian descent Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Eredivisie players Süper Lig players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Nemzeti Bajnokság II players SC Heerenveen players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers Ferencvárosi TC footballers Vasas SC players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey