Jay-Jay Okocha joins newly-established CAF Ambassadors program

Nigerian football legend Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha is among the first names to be signed up in the newly-established CAF Ambassadors program.

Former Senegal forward, El Hadji Diouf, Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan and former Egypt midfielder, Ahmed Hassan, are also part of program as announced by CAF on Monday night.

Their role will include promoting CAF and African Football, as well as playing an important role in other activities including tournaments, charity initiatives, commercial and social events amongst others.

The players are selected for this role not just based on their sporting and career achievement, but also for their social impact and commercial value.

Okocha won the Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles in 1994 and also Olympic gold medal two years later in Atlanta, USA.

The 50-year-old former Super Eagles captain is regarded as one of the greatest exports from Africa, being regarded as one of the greatest dribblers of all time and renowned for his mesmerizing displays on the pitch.

On the other hand, Diouf is a two-time CAF Player of the Year and reached  the final of the 2002 AFCON while also reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup the same year.

Meanwhile, Gyan featured in seven AFCON reaching the final in 2010 and 2015.  His six goals from three FIFA World Cups makes him the African with the most goals in the history of the Mundial.

One of the most decorated players in the history of African football, Hassan on his part won four Africa Cup of Nations titles with the Pharaohs of Egypt, and has over 170 caps for his country.

More football legends, community role models and other popular personalities will also form part of the program as CAF promises to announce more names in due course.