Jay Jay Okocha
*Guinness Football Challenge East Africa –Celebrity TV Finale
WORLD class football stars made the dreams of four lucky football fanatics from across East Africa come true in the Guinness Football Challenge Celebrity Finale last night and football icon Jay Jay Okocha showed why he is ‘so good they named him twice’ as he helped his partner hit the jackpot and win USD50K!
The episode kicked off with the four footballing heroes, Jay Jay Okocha, Marcel Desailly, Rigobert Song and Kalusha Bwalya, stepping out onto the pitch to pick their team mate. The Tanzania nation waited with baited breath to see which excited top scorer from the Guinness Football Challenge mobile phone game got partnered with each celebrity footballer as they together took on the challenge to a life changing some of money.
It was Kenyan businessman James Nderitu from Nairobird who bagged Nigerian football icon Jay Jay and together went on to win USD50K. James has succeeded in business, succeeded in being partnering with a world class hero and succeeded in winning the Celebrity Finale! Speaking of his epic win, James said, “Winning makes me feel on top of the world – the whole experience, starring in the show and meeting Jay Jay – has been is a real dream come true.”
In classic hero style, Jay Jay gallantly donated his share of the winnings to the other three contestants in recognition of their incredible efforts on the show, so they took each took home just over USD8K .
Commenting on his experience of taking part in the show, Jay Jay said: “It was an incredible experience to be a part of, meeting the contestants, the audience and the hosts. This episode was filled with everything – drama, tears and laughter. Taking part you feel an amazing pressure, something that I did not expect to feel out on the Guinness Football Challenge pitch. I am delighted that I came through for my team mate, he put in a great performance too and hitting the final target on the Guinness® Money Wall meant we secured a truly life changing amount of money for him.”
Together the duo saw off tough competition, so who are the other knowledgeable football fans that are now the envy of football lovers across East Africa?
• The top scorer from the East Africa region was ICT officer, George Otieno from Mombasa who was paired up with his dream football partner, former French international, Marcel Desailly
• Stepping up to represent Tanzania was bachelor of commerce and Liverpool FC fan, Hance Kimola from Kinondoni, Dar Es Salaam who was teamed up with his ultimate football hero, former Cameroonian international, Rigobert Song
• Back for a second time and ready to show off his knowledge on behalf of Uganda was radio journalist, Patrick Ogua from Arua, who was standing alongside Zambia’s great ever footballer, Kalusha Bwalya
All four contestants battled the mobile phone game leader board and demonstrated that they knew the offside rule from the free kick rule and their Pele from their Ronaldo, but in this Celebrity Finale it was the chance for their football heroes to take centre stage as they went head-to-head on the physical challenges to see if they could get their partners to the final round.
The footballers were on fire throughout the episode with some incredible displays of skill, some closely fought rounds and some extravagant celebrations from former Cameroonian international Rigobert Song. But it was James and Jay Jay who worked together to see off the other teams and secure themselves the chance to take on the Guinness® Money Wall.
The Guinness® Money Wall had defeated many teams throughout the series, but the question on everyone’s lips was, would a member of Nigeria’s ‘Dream Team’ have the skill to beat the wall?
It was a fantastic team effort for the duo with James correctly answering all the questions and Jay Jay demonstrating some phenomenal skill as he worked his way up the targets. The tension in the studio was immense when they had one target left and just one final ball. And as you would expect, Jay Jay delivered and hit the target when it counted, securing the pair the jackpot and earning himself the honour of being the first ever player on the show to hit target six! Please remember to drink responsibly – 18+.