Orji Okwonkwo

Orji Okwonkwo

Personal information
Date of birth	(1998-01-19) 19 January 1998 (age 26) [1]
Place of birth	Benin City, Nigeria [2]
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [3]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Reggiana (on loan from Bologna)
Number	18
Youth career
	FC Abuja Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–	Bologna	27	(3)
2018	→ Brescia (loan)	13	(1)
2019	→ Montreal Impact (loan)	28	(8)
2020	→ Montreal Impact (loan)	15	(1)
2021	→ Reggina (loan)	12	(0)
2021–2022	→ Cittadella (loan)	20	(7)
2024–	→ Reggiana (loan)	5	(0)
International career‡
	Nigeria U17
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 06:08, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Orji Okwonkwo (born 19 January 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie B club Reggiana on loan from Bologna.

Club career

He signed for Bologna in August 2016. ^[4] On 20 November 2016, Okwonkwo made his debut in Serie A with Bologna in a victory against Palermo. ^[5] On 24 September 2017, Okwonkwo scored his first Serie A goal against Sassuolo. ^[6]

On 31 January 2018, Okwonkwo signed a loan contract with Brescia until 30 June 2018. ^[7]

On 12 February 2019, Okwonkwo signed a loan contract with the Montreal Impact until 31 December 2019. ^[8] On 24 January 2020, Montreal Impact re-acquired Okwonkwo on a loan with a purchase option at the end of the 2020 season. ^[9] He said he was looking forward to working with manager Thierry Henry. ^[10]

On 1 February 2021, Okwonkwo moved to Serie B side Reggina, on a loan deal until the end of the season. ^[11]

On 24 July 2021 he joined Cittadella on loan. ^[12]

On 20 June 2022, NADO Italia sanctioned Okwonkwo with a footballing ban until 24 February 2026, after Okwonkwo tested positive for the steroid clostebol during his loan spell at Cittadella. On 17 September 2022, FIFA's disciplinary committee extended the NADO Italia sanctions to have worldwide effect. ^[13] The ban was later reduced by two years, until 24 February 2024. ^[14]

On 1 February 2024, Okwonkwo was loaned by Reggiana. ^[15]

International career

Okwonkwo represented Nigeria under-17 at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, winning the tournament. ^{[1] [16]}

Career statistics

As of 25 October 2019 ^[17]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bologna	2016–17	Serie A	9	0	2	0	0	0	11	0
	2017–18		10	3	0	0	0	0	10	3
	2018–19		8	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		27	3	3	0	0	0	30	3
Brescia (loan)	2017–18	Serie B	13	1	0	0	0	0	13	1
Montreal Impact (loan)	2019	MLS	28	8	0	0	0	0	28	8
Career total			68	12	3	0	0	0	71	12

Honours

Montreal Impact

• Canadian Championship: 2019 ^[18]

Nigeria U17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2015 ^[1]

References

1. Orji Okwonkwo – FIFA competition record (archived)
2. Orji Okwonkwo at BDFutbol
3. "Orji Okwonkwo | Montreal Impact".
4. Oluwashina Okeleji (24 August 2016). "Orji Okonkwo: Nigerian teenage striker joins Bologna". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
5. "Debutto in Serie A per Orji Okwonkwo" (in Italian). calciomercato.com. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
6. "Primo gol in Serie A per Okwonkwo" (in Italian). Quotidiano.net. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
7. "Okwonkwo in prestito al Brescia" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
8. "Impact acquires Nigerian striker Orji Okwonkwo on loan". montrealimpact.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
9. Bogert, Tom (24 January 2020). "Montreal Impact re-acquire attacker Orji Okwonkwo on loan from Bologna" . Retrieved 25 January 2020.
10. "Orji Okwonkwo: Nigerian 'feels lucky' to play under Thierry Henry". BBC Sport. 27 January 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
11. "Calciomercato Reggina: ufficiale, arrivano Orji Okwonwko e Michael Kingsley" [Reggina transfer market: official, Orji Okwonwko and Michael Kingsley arrive]. CityNow (in Italian). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
12. "🆕 𝐎𝐑𝐉𝐈 𝐎𝐊𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐊𝐖𝐎". Twitter (in Italian). Cittadella. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
13. "Orji Okonkwo: Nigerian U-17 World Cup winner given four-year doping ban". BBC. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
14. "Il mercato di gennaio e le scelte del ds Roberto Goretti" (in Italian). La Gazzetta Granata. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
15. "Ufficiale Orji Okwonkwo per l'attacco della Reggiana" [Orji Okwonkwo official for the Reggiana attack] (in Italian). Reggiana. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
16. "Time on Okwonkwo's side". FIFA. 7 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
17. Orji Okwonkwo at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
18. "Montréal takes 2019 Canadian Championship title" . Retrieved 28 September 2019.