NAIROBI, Kenya, January 8- Lille teenage striking hope Divock Okoth Origi could soon be playing for the nation of his father’s birth if Football Kenya Federation (FKF) are successful in convincing him to ditch his Belgian citizenship.
The forward, 17, has already played for the nation of his birth at the Under-19 level and is the son of retired Harambee Stars leading striker, Mike Okoth and is commanding attention after scoring on his debut for French Ligue 1 side Lille last weekend on his debut.
“I will talk to the Government to ensure that he is given a passport and I have a feeling he wants to play to Kenya. The new constitution allows dual citizenship and he is still a teenager so he can choose which country to play for,” FKF boss Sam Nyamweya said Friday.
According to him, a formal approach had been made to the player’s family with his father still based in Belgium since 2005 when he hung his boots.
Stand in coach, James Nandwa, welcomed the prospect of having the youngster in future Stars’ squad and told of how he spoke to his cousin and goal keeper, Arnold Origi in Tunisia where Kenya beat Libya 3-0.
“We are watching how he is playing and talk to his club and we will see what happens in the coming days,” he outlined.
The younger Origi came on in the 69th minute for Ronny Rodelin and brought his side from 1–0 down six minutes later to help them salvage a point in a Ligue 1 draw at home against Troyes.
His father was the key striker for Kenya for a decade and famously scored all the goals as Kenya beat Burkina Faso 4-3 in a 1998 World Cup qualifier.
His uncle Austin Oduor played for Gor Mahia and is the father of Arnold while the family’s other footballer Gerald used to turn out for Kenya Breweries (now Tusker).
