Nigerian singer Kingsley Okonkwo, popularly known as Kcee, has shared that he was once a professional footballer but switched to music—his second love—after struggling to find sponsorship for his football career.
During a recent conversation with podcaster Temisan Emmanuel, which surfaced on X on Saturday, Kcee disclosed that he featured for Nigerian league clubs Julius Berger FC and Puma FC in the 1990s.
He stated that his football journey took him to South Africa and that he was part of the group of upcoming players expected to succeed the Olympic gold-winning Super Eagles squad, which featured stars like Austin Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.
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He mentioned that he turned to music when his football ambitions were hindered by a lack of financial backing.
Kcee said, “The first time I travelled out of this country was football. I was playing for Julius Berger. I played for Puma. The first time I went to South Africa was soccer. That was before music.
“I was a very young boy. This was in the middle 90s. I was a teenager then. Jay Jay [Okocha] and Kanu were a set before me. After them, we would have been like the people to take over Super Eagles.”
He added, “When I found out that it was difficult to take my football career to the next level, I picked up my next love, music. I was running both of them side by side. In the course of that, I won Star Quest talent hunt and I started making money. So, I had to drop one for one. That was why I quit football.”
