Uchenna Kizito Okafor, often shortened to Uche Okafor (8 August 1967 – 6 January 2011) was a football defender who played 34 international matches for Nigeria

Nigeria national football team

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

.

Club career

Okafor's club career took him to many countries before he settled in the USA. Okafor was drafted to Kansas City Wizards

Kansas City Wizards

Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

 in the 9th round of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft

The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players who had already graduated from college to the league's ten inaugural teams. The draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996...

, and played there for five seasons before retiring after the 2000 season.

International career

Okafor played every match when Nigeria won the 1994 African Cup of Nations, but sustained an ankle injury shortly thereafter. He was part of the squad to the 1994 World Cup

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

 but did not get any playing time. He played 1 out of their 4 games in the 1998 World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

, though, as well as at the 1988 Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

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Coaching

Okafor coached for the Associated Soccer Group, a member of the North Texas Soccer Association

North Texas Soccer Association

North Texas Soccer Association, established in 1964, organises over 175,000 soccer players registered through over 123 member associations. It is based in Carrollton, Texas. The Association is a member of the United States Youth and Amateur Soccer Associations, the United States Soccer Federation...

. He was head coach for the 91 Gold Central boys team and the 93 HP Central boys team who play in the Plano Premier Select Soccer league.

Other notable professional footballers who coach for ASG are Dave Dir

Dave Dir

David Dir is a former United States soccer goalkeeper, coach and broadcaster. He played professionally in USISL and coached in the American Professional Soccer League, NCAA and Major League Soccer.-Playing career:...

, Zequinha

Zequinha

José Ferreira Franco , nicknamed Zequinha, was a Brazilian former football player.-National team:...

, Oscar Pareja

Óscar Pareja

Óscar Pareja was a Colombian football midfielder and who served as an assistant coach with United States U-17 men's national soccer team at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, FL.-Professional:...

, and Bobby Rhine

Bobby Rhine

Bobby Rhine was an American soccer player who last played for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.Rhine played college soccer at the University of Connecticut, where he was a second-team All-American in 1998. He was drafted by the then-Dallas Burn sixth overall in the 1999 MLS College Draft...

.

Media work

Okafor was a regular pundit on Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n football on ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

's coverage and their PressPass

PressPass

ESPNsoccernet PressPass is a 30 minute show which airs Monday to Friday and is a soccer discussion show between presenters Adrian Healey, Dan Thomas, Andrew Orsatti and analysts including Robbie Mustoe, Gabriele Marcotti, Tommy Smyth, Janusz Michallik, Shaka Hislop, Robbie Earle, Steve Nicol,...

 programme.

Death

Okafor's body was discovered Thursday afternoon by his wife shortly after he returned home from dropping off his daughter in school in their house in Little Elm, a town about 30 miles northwest of Dallas. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said Friday that he hanged himself in an upstairs hallway. The FBI later found that this was a murder case and that he did not commit suicide.

External references

• Nigerian Players