Bukayo Saka Reveals Role Played His Grandmother In Naming Him

Arsenal of England youngster, Bukayo Saka has revealed the role played by his grandmother in giving him a Yoruba name and went on to reveal its meaning, megasportsarena.com reports.

The left-footed dark-skinned youngster, who opted to play for England at full international level despite interest expressed by Nigeria, added that his birth was meant to bring joy into the Saka family.

That has happened to a large extent, as he has enacted heroics with Arsenal and England’s national team, despite efforts by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to get him into a switch of nationality.

Indeed, Saka was the subject of speculation a few years ago when Nigeria reportedly tried to persuade him to commit his international future to the Super Eagles.

He, however, opted to turn out for England and, despite his decision not to represent the West African Eagles, he remains close to his Nigerian heritage.

While expressing some nostalgia about his early days, Saka disclosed that his name means joy in Yoruba and revealed that it was grandmother who named him when he was born.

The Gunners’ whiz-kid, who was born to Nigerian parents in the United Kingdom, disclosed the origin of his name in an interview with GQ magazine.

Saka disclosed: “My grandma gave [the name] to me because of its meaning. It means God has added joy to my life.

“She wanted me to add joy to the family, so she named me that. Every time she called me, that’s probably what I meant to her.”