Emmanuel Arnold Okwi (born 25 December 1992) is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Rwanda Premier League club Kiyovu Sports.

Club career Okwi played for Uganda Super League club SC Villa before joining Tanzanian team Simba S.C. for US$40,000.

In January 2013, Tunisian team Étoile Sportive du Sahel signed Okwi for a Tanzania record transfer fee of US$300,000. The team, however, failed to pay the fee to Simba S.C. He was then cleared by FIFA's Player Status Committee in December 2013 to return to SC Villa"Tanzania's Simba claims to 'own' Okwi", New Vision, authored by James Bakama, accessed 11 July 2015 although the clearance was changed two months later so he could play for Young Africans S.C., despite Simba S.C.'s protests.

Okwi rejoined Simba S.C. in August 2014 under a six-month contract, explaining that Young Africans S.C. had terminated his contract by failing to pay the US$50,000 owed to him."Yanga pull plug on Okwi deal", In2EastAfrica, accessed 11 July 2015 Okwi refused to play the last five games of the 2013–14 season for Young Africans because of the payment controversy. Young Africans vigorously protested the transfer to Simba S.C. and claimed that the contract was still in effect. The Tanzania Football Federation rejected that claim in September 2014.

In July 2015, SønderjyskE Fodbold signed Okwi on a five-year contract, with the consent of Simba S.C., that would last until 2020. In January 2017, Okwi agreed to terminate the contract. He scored two goals in six appearances.

Upon his return from Denmark Okwi re-joined former club SC Villa signing a six-month contract. He scored 10 goals in 13 Uganda Premier League matches.

In June 2017, Okwi signed with Simba S.C. for the third time in his career having agreed a two-year contract.

In July 2019, after impressing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Okwi joined Egyptian Premier League club Al Ittihad on a two-year contract.

In August 2024, he re-joined former club Kiyovu Sports on a one-year contract.

International career Okwi first represented Uganda at senior level in 2009. He was the second top scorer at the 2010 CECAFA Cup, scoring a four goals in five matches. The following year at the 2011 CECAFA Cup, he scored five goals and was joint top scorer alongside Rwanda's Meddie Kagere and their captain Olivier Karekezi..He officially announced his international football retirement on 18 March 2025https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/sports/soccer/okwi-another-case-of-unfulfilled-potential--4973188

Personal life Okwi grew up idolizing Thierry Henry and is a fan of Arsenal F.C. Okwi was born into a Roman Catholic family, but at a young age, his mother became a Born Again Christian and raised her children in her faith. Okwi married his longtime girlfriend Florence Nakalegga with whom they have one child. Okwi played football as a boy while at St. Henry's College Kitovu.

Career statistics

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsUganda200971201064201165201212320131052014502015002016602017812018822019115202020202160202242202340Total9528

Scores and results list Uganda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Okwi goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Emmanuel OkwiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 13 December 2009 Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya 2–0 2–0 2009 CECAFA Cup2 2 December 2010 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 1–1 1–1 2010 CECAFA Cup3 5 December 2010 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 1–0 2–1 2010 CECAFA Cup4 8 December 2010 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–1 2–2 2010 CECAFA Cup5 12 December 2010 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–2 4–3 2010 CECAFA Cup6 28 November 2011 Chamazi Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–0 4–0 2011 CECAFA Cup7 3–08 4–09 8 December 2011 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–1 3–1 2011 CECAFA Cup10 10 December 2011 Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2–2 2–2 2011 CECAFA Cup11 3 June 2012 Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola 1–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification12 16 June 2012 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 4–0 4–0 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification13 6 December 2012 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 1–0 3–0 2012 CECAFA Cup14 15 June 2013 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 1–1 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification15 31 August 2013 Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana 1–0 3–1 Friendly16 2–017 2 December 2013 Nairobi City Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya 1–0 3–0 2013 CECAFA Cup18 3–019 31 August 2017 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 1–0 1–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification20 13 October 2018 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 1–0 3–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification21 3–022 22 June 2019 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt 2–0 2–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations23 26 June 2019 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt 1–0 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations24 8 September 2019 Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, Kenya 1–0 1–1 Friendly 25 13 October 2019 Bahir Dar Stadium, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia 1–0 1–0 Friendly 26 17 November 2019 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda 1–0 2–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification27 25 March 2022 Markaziy Stadium, Namangan, Uzbekistan 1–0 1–1 2022 Nowruz Cup28 29 March 2022 Markaziy Stadium, Namangan, Uzbekistan 2–4 2–4 2022 Nowruz Cup

References

External links