{{Short description|Nigerian footballer}} {{for|the Nigerian goalkeeper|Uche Okafor (footballer, born 1991)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Uche Okafor | fullname = Uchenna Kizito Okafor | image = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1967|8|8|df=yes}} | birth_place = Owerri, Nigeria | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2011|1|6|1967|8|8}} | death_place = Little Elm, Texas, United States | height = 1.90 m | currentclub = | position = Defender | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = | years1 = 1986–1988 | years2 = 1988–1991 | years3 = 1991–1992 | years4 = 1992–1993 | years5 = 1993–1994 | years6 = 1994 | years7 = 1995 | years8 = 1995–1996 | years9 = 1996–2000 | clubs1 = ACB Lagos | clubs2 = KRC Mechelen | clubs3 = UR Namur | clubs4 = Le Touquet AC | clubs5 = Hannover 96 | clubs6 = União de Leiria | clubs7 = Ironi Ashdod | clubs8 = Farense | clubs9 = Kansas City Wizards | caps1 = ? | caps2 = ? | caps3 = ? | caps4 = ? | caps5 = 4 | caps6 = 0 | caps7 = 13 | caps8 = 0 | caps9 = 109 | goals1 = ? | goals2 = ? | goals3 = ? | goals4 = ? | goals5 = 0 | goals6 = 0 | goals7 = 0 | goals8 = 0 | goals9 = 3 | nationalyears1 = 1988–1998 | nationalteam1 = Nigeria | nationalcaps1 = 34 | nationalgoals1 = 0 }}
'''Uchenna Kizito Okafor''' {{IPAc-en||audio=Ig-Uchenna Kizito Okafor.ogg}}, often shortened to '''Uche Okafor''' (8 August 1967 – 6 January 2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Sport/Football/5662107-147/uche_okafor_dies_in_the_us.csp|title=Uche Okafor dies in the US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110112801/http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Sport/Football/5662107-147/uche_okafor_dies_in_the_us.csp |archive-date=10 January 2011|author=Jide Alaka|date=7 January 2011|publisher=Timbuktu Media|access-date=25 November 2020|work=Next}}</ref> was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a defender. He made 34 international appearances for the Nigeria national team.
==Club career== Okafor's club career took him to many countries<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Trialists|title=Trialists|work=The Celtic Wiki}}</ref> before he settled in the USA. Okafor was drafted to Kansas City Wizards in the ninth round of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, 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 but did not get any playing time. He played one out of their four games in the 1998 World Cup, though, as well as at the 1988 Olympics.
==Post-playing career== Okafor coached for the Associated Soccer Group,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asgfc.com/index.htm|title=Associated Soccer Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007073929/http://www.asgfc.com/index.htm |archive-date=7 October 2007|publisher=ASG Dallas Futbol Club}}</ref> a member of the North Texas Soccer Association. 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.
Okafor was a regular pundit on African football on ESPN's coverage and their ''PressPass'' programme.
==Death== Okafor's body was discovered by his wife in January 2011 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 that he hanged himself in an upstairs hallway. Okafor's family rejected the suicide ruling of the Little Elm Police Department, suspecting foul play.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/nigerian-soccer-star-buried-in-africa-as-family-challenges-little-elm-pds-suicide-ruling-7140153|title=Nigerian Soccer Star Buried in Africa, As Family Challenges Little Elm PD's Suicide Ruling|work=Dallas Observer|date=11 March 2011|author=Alex Copeland|access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref>
Kent Babb, reporter for the Kansas City Star, published an in-depth analysis of Uche's death on 19 May 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Family of former soccer pro can't accept shame of suicide ruling|url=http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/the-full-90/article303287/Family-of-former-soccer-pro-can’t-accept-shame-of-suicide-ruling.html#storylink=misearch|access-date=24 April 2017|work=Kansas City Star|date=19 May 2012|author=Kent Babb}}</ref>
==Honours== '''Kansas City Wizards''' *MLS All-Star, 1998<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2, 1998 |title=1998 MLS All-Star Game |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/1998-mls-all-star-game-373141 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |work=MLSsoccer.com}}</ref> *MLS Cup: 2000 *Supporters' Shield: 2000
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pID=137 Uche Okafor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313050750/http://nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pid=137 |date=13 March 2016 }} Nigerian Players * {{NFT player|13870}}
{{Navboxes | title = Nigeria squads | bg = #008751 | fg = white | bordercolor = #00703C | list = {{Nigeria squad 1988 African Cup of Nations}} {{Nigeria squad 1994 African Cup of Nations}} {{Nigeria squad 1994 FIFA World Cup}} {{Nigeria squad 1995 King Fahd Cup}} {{Nigeria squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okafor, Uche}} Category:1967 births Category:2011 suicides Category:2011 deaths Category:Footballers from Owerri Category:People from Little Elm, Texas Category:Soccer players from Denton County, Texas Category:Men's association football central defenders Category:Nigerian men's footballers Category:Nigeria men's international footballers Category:Africa Cup of Nations–winning players Category:1988 African Cup of Nations players Category:1994 African Cup of Nations players Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players Category:1995 King Fahd Cup players Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players Category:KRC Mechelen players Category:Hannover 96 players Category:U.D. Leiria players Category:Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. players Category:S.C. Farense players Category:Sporting Kansas City players Category:Igbo sportspeople Category:Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Category:Suicides by hanging in Texas Category:Nigerian emigrants to the United States Category:Major League Soccer players Category:Major League Soccer All-Stars Category:ACB Lagos F.C. players Category:20th-century Nigerian sportsmen