JayJay Okocha's Childhood Story Is Showmax's First Original Animated Series - 'JayJay: The Chosen One'

Nigeria’s darling and soccer legend, JayJay Okocha is the direct inspiration for what’s Showmax’s first foray into the world of animated series.

Aptly titled JayJay: The Chosen One, this 13-episode series will follow an 11-year-old Augustine who dreams of representing his school at a prestigious football tournament with a team made up of his rag-tag group of friends. Along with his passion for soccer, he loves the animal kingdom, which bestows superpowers on him in return for his fight against illegal poaching.

The series is voiced by a Nigerian cast, led by Prince Unigwe (Glamour Girls) playing Jay Jay. He’s supported by Olamide Dada, Toluwanimi Adeoye, Ejiro Asagba, Samuel Ajibola (The Johnsons), Mena Sodje, Lexan Peters and Pamilerin Ayodeji, Eric Obinna, and veteran actor Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki and PawPaw, The Johnsons), to mention but a few.

This announcement of this series follows a recent similar one concerning Lionel Messi.

JayJay Okocha himself had this to say about JayJay: The Chose One:

“I’m honoured to have an animated series that reimagines my childhood. Jay Jay: The Chosen One is going to bring back good childhood memories as well as inspire young children who have dreams to be football players. I’m excited about the show and grateful to Showmax and the production team who worked hard to bring it to life.”

Nihilent Limited is producing Jay Jay The Chosen One in partnership with the production studio 5th Dimension as well as animation studio I-Realities.

“Not only is Jay Jay: The Chosen One another locally inspired Showmax Original, it marks the beginning of our adventures in animation,” said Yolisa Phahle, CEO of Showmax and Connected Video at MultiChoice. “This is a show we believe will find audiences globally and shines the spotlight on yet another world-class African achiever that we hope will be enjoyed by kids and the entire family.”