Ireland U-21 2019 Qualifying

On a summer’s day in 2013, the phone rang at St. Kevin's Boys FC. A voice asked to speak to U12’s manager, Mick McCracken.

“Liam Brady rang Kevin’s. He wanted to know what a kid from Kevin’s was doing moving to London and why he hadn’t come near Arsenal,” McCracken explains to Balls.ie.

It had not taken long for the 12-year-old talented Dubliner to attract attention. Shortly after his family emigrated to the English capital, he began playing schoolboy football. Before long London’s professional clubs would all come calling. It took one trial game for West Ham to offer to extend his stint to six-weeks.

After his second game, they wanted to make it permanent. The opposition that he had faced, Fulham, also reached out.

The phone at St Kevin’s began to ring relentlessly. Fulham enquired about compensation; they were told to deal directly with the boy’s family. The Arsenal invitation arrived, and a four-goal debut convinced them to make an offer. At the same time, Chelsea declared their interest.

Armstrong Okoflex chose Arsenal.

“We did call Arsenal back and said, 'Listen, we might try Chelsea,’” recalls Reginald Okoflex Inya, Armstrong’s father.

“They said they would come to the house. Then I said to his Mum ‘I love Arsenal, I supported them as a child, and it reminds me of St. Kevins,' and we talked to him. All he wanted to do is play football. They actually signed the contract in the living room of the house. The rest is history.”

Reginald Okoflex Inya is a renowned figure in North inner-city Dublin. After emigrating to Ireland over two decades ago, he studied at Dublin City University and Dublin Institute of Technology. Soon he helped establish the Migrant Family Support Services and Community Foundation for Ireland programme for which he was awarded numerous UN and Social Entrepreneur Ireland accolades.

Describing himself as a proud Irish-Nigerian and 'one global village' advocate, it is through this lens which one must view Okoflex’s upbringing:

I was always looking forward to the time when my son could be a symbol of a different Ireland. His age-group and generation, a mixed raced kid from different parts, being successful. If you see African people on a Dublin street, people still associate that with an asylum seeker. Not a professional, not a pro football player or a rugby player.

But in time we will respect a black man for who he is, not what he looks like. Knowing he can be a doctor, or a TD, or in the four courts deciding cases. He could be a policy-maker in the Irish system. There is a moment when we will get there.

Last summer, Okoflex turned down a new Arsenal deal in favour of Celtic. Manager Brendan Rodgers had compared his situation to Raheem Sterling’s and Okoflex declared it his goal to make his debut before turning 17.

Roll forward to last Sunday; his father watched proudly as his son was included in the senior squad for Celtic’s SPL contest against Kilmarnock.

His prowess attracted the attention of various professional clubs and eventually an international underage side but remarkably, it was not Ireland.

Due to emigrating and living in London, Okoflex is eligible to play for England as well as Ireland, his country of birth and Nigeria, where his father is from.

“To be honest, he was first called up and played with England before Ireland even called him. He already played for England, then Ireland called him up. He is still playing with the two.”

The FAI did wake up and call in Armstrong subsequent to his initial England appearances, and he has represented both at U15 and U16 level.

Balls.ie understand that Nigeria have also been in contact with an invitation but thus far, Armstrong has not accepted it. His father is reluctant to dwell on international teams, with their focus firmly on his own footballing development.

“We just want to see how his future works out. He has a chance to play. You know what? Anything about international is a pure longshot right now to even think about.”

Armstrong Okoflex is an Irish-born prospect who was called up by a different nation before Ireland. As it turns out, he wasn’t the only one.