20/09/2025
🇳🇬 Jay-Jay Okocha: "The quality of African football is on the decline," he said while sharing his take on the quality of past and current national teams. "Then, everything used to come naturally for us. We played on the streets; we were all playing for the love of the game. But now, you see rich people calling you, saying their son is interested in football. At the early stages, they start denying them that freedom of expression because they get a personal coach who teaches them how to pass, shoot, and do whatever, because they have the money to spend." He said.
But that African flair is what's being taken away from us because they are not out there trying new things and expressing themselves. All they do is see our clips and try to do what we have already done. We used to create those dribbling moves because we were free. There were no rules. I'm not saying that's the best, but there's nothing better than developing love for whatever you're doing, and love will come from the freedom to express yourself." ✨️