Okafor played his first youth football with local team FC Arisdorf. In 2009 he moved to the youth of Basel and continued through all the stages of their youth academy. He advanced to their first team during their 2018–19 season and on 31 January 2018, Okafor signed his first professional contract with his club under head coach Raphaël Wicky.[2] He played his debut for their first team on 19 May 2018 in the home game against FC Luzern. The trainer substituted him in for the injured Mohamed Elyounoussi in the 34th minute and the game ended in a 2–2 draw.[3] He scored his first goal for his club in the second round of the 2018–19 season on 28 July 2018 in the 1–1 away draw against Xamax.[4]
Under trainer Marcel Koller Basel won the Swiss Cup in the 2018–19 season. In the first round Basel beat FC Montlingen 3–0, in the second round Echallens Région 7–2 and in the round of 16 Winterthur 1–0. In the quarter-finals Sion were defeated 4–2 after extra time and in the semi-finals Zürich were defeated 3–1. All these games were played away from home. The final was held on 19 May 2019 in the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf Bern against Thun. Striker Albian Ajeti scored the first goal, Fabian Frei the second for Basel, then Dejan Sorgić netted a goal for Thun, but the end result was 2–1 for Basel.[5] Okafor played in four cup games and scored a goal in the semi-final against Zürich.
Between the years 2017 and 2020 Okafor played a total of 72 games for Basel scoring a total of nine goals. 39 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, seven in the Swiss Cup, eight in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 18 were friendly games. He scored three goals in the domestic league, two in the cup, two in the European competitions and the other two were scored during the test games.[6]
On 8 December 2021, Okafor scored the only goal of the game as Salzburg defeated Sevilla in the final group stage match of the Champions League. The win meant Salzburg secured progression to the Round of 16 and became the first-ever Austrian club to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.[8][9]
On 7 September 2022, during a Champions League group stage match against AC Milan, Okafor scored a remarkable goal, leading the match to a 1–1 draw.[10] After outmaneuvering Milan's defender Pierre Kalulu and goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a 'gurkerl' trick shot, his goal landed in the bottom right corner of the net, sparking widespread celebrations in the stadium.[11][12]
AC Milan
On 22 July 2023, Okafor signed for Italian Serie A side AC Milan until 30 June 2028.[13] Okafor made his Serie A debut for AC Milan on 21 August 2023 against Bologna.[14] On 27 September 2023, Okafor scored his first goal for the Rossoneri in a 3–1 away victory against Cagliari.[15][16] Three days later, he scored the second goal against Lazio in 2–0 win.[17] His third goal of the season came on 17 December against Monza, when he scored his team's third goal in a comfortable 3–0 win.[18] On 20 January 2024, he came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner against Udinese, it was the first win for AC Milan in the former's stadium since 2020.[19][20]
On 17 August 2024, Okafor netted his first goal of the 2024–25 season in the opening match, which ended in a 2–2 draw against Torino.[21] In January 2025, his loan move to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig was canceled after he failed a medical examination due to a muscular injury.[22]
Loan to Napoli
On 3 February 2025, Okafor joined Serie A club Napoli on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season, with an option of a permanent transfer.[23] On May 23, 2025, Okafor won his first trophy in Italy, the fourth Scudetto in Napoli's history.[24] His presence in the squad was thought to be unnecessary as he only featured in four matches under coach Antonio Conte.[25]
Leeds United
It was reported on 19 August 2025 that agreement had been reached for Okafor to sign for Premier League club Leeds United.[26] On 21 August 2025, Okafor officially moved to England and joined the club on a four-year contract in a deal reported to be £18,000,000.[27]
International career
Okafor played various international games for the Swiss U-15 and U-17 teams. He played his first game for the U-18 team on 9 May 2018 in the 1–1 draw against the Italy U-18 team.
Born in Binningen, Switzerland, Okafor is the son of a Nigerian Igbo father and a Swiss mother.[31] His younger brothers Elijah and Isaiah are also footballers, playing respectively for FC Lugano II and the Under 21 of FC Zürich.
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