Michael Olunga Ogada (born 26 March 1994) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains Qatar Stars League Side Al-Arabi and the Kenya national team.

Club career

Early career and Gor Mahia

While still a student at the Upper Hill School, Olunga began his career with the Liberty Sports Academy in the Nairobi County League. He scored 32 goals for the side during the 2012 season, helping them finish the season unbeaten and earn promotion to the Nairobi Provincial League. He made headlines when he scored seven goals in a single match helping his team to an 8–0 win.

Initially reported to be attending trials in France, Olunga signed for Kenyan Premier League side Tusker on a one-year loan deal from Liberty on 19 December 2012.

After finishing the 2013 season with two goals for Tusker, Olunga was loaned to fellow Premier League side Thika United for another year, before joining Gor Mahia ahead of the 2015 season. He finished the season as the club's top scorer in the league with 19 goals to help the side win a record 15th league title without losing a single match, including the second goal in a 2–0 win over Muhoroni Youth on their final league match of the season.

Djurgården

On 17 February 2016, Olunga joined Swedish side Djurgårdens IF on a four-year contract, after joining the team's pre-season training camp on trial. He scored his first two goals for Djurgården on 8 August 2016 against IFK Göteborg in a 3–1 win. He was also named man of the match and Djurgården coach Mark Dempsey praised him for his match winning heroics. In the next match Olunga scored once again in the 2–2 draw versus IF Elfsborg at the Tele2 Arena. On 27 August, he scored the match-winning goal against Gefle IF with a volley in the 86th minute. In the last 12 games of the Allsvenskan Olunga scored 12 goals which earned him a fifth place in the Allsvenskan top scorer table. He was nominated for Newcomer of the year in Swedish football by a jury of Allsvenskan coaches and Swedish journalists as well as the coaches of the Swedish national teams. The award later went to Alexander Isak.

On 10 November 2016, Kenyan football site Soka reported that Djurgården had turned down offers on Olunga from La Liga side Betis, Lokeren, Belgian champions Club Brugge and Swedish champions Malmö FF.

Guizhou Zhicheng

In 2017, Olunga joined Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng.

Girona (loan)

On 1 September 2017, Olunga was loaned to La Liga side Girona FC, for one year. On 13 January 2018, he made his La Liga debut against Las Palmas scoring a hat-trick in the span of 22 minutes during a 6–0 win, becoming both the first Kenyan player and the first Girona player to score a hat-trick in La Liga.

Kashiwa Reysol

On 10 August 2018, Olunga joined Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol.

On 24 November 2019, he scored eight goals for Kashiwa in a 13–1 victory over Kyoto Sanga. Olunga finished the season with 27 league goals as Kashiwa finished the J2 season as champions and won promotion to the first division.

In J1 League play on 26 July 2020, Olunga scored a hat-trick against Vegalta Sendai; the match finished in a 5–1 victory.

Olunga finished as the top scorer in the 2020 Japanese J1 League with 28 goals, winning the Golden Boot and the J-League 2020 MVP. He is the first African player to win the J-league MVP award.

Al-Duhail

In January 2021, Olunga moved to Qatar Stars League champions Al-Duhail on a three-season contract, for a reported transfer fee of €6 million.

He made his debut for the club on 12 January, in a 3–1 away loss against Al Sadd. On 25 January 2021, Olunga scored a hat-trick in Duhail's 6–0 win against Al Ahli in the Emir of Qatar Cup. Olunga finished as the top scorer of the 2021 AFC Champions League, but Al-Duhail crashed out of the competition after a 1–1 draw with team Al Ahli Saudi in late April. and Esteghlal qualified as group winners.

On 8 May 2023, Olunga and his club secured the 2022–23 Qatar Stars League title, scoring four goals in a 5–2 defeat of Al-Shamal.

International career

Olunga made his debut for the Kenya national team in a friendly against Seychelles at the Stade Linité in Victoria on 28 March 2015. He scored his first goal for the Harambee Stars in a friendly against South Sudan which resulted in a 2–0 win. On 27 July 2019, during the 2019 AFCON Olunga scored a double to complete a comeback against Tanzania.

Personal life

Olunga studied geospatial engineering at the Technical University of Kenya and pursued a Bachelor of Engineering degree. For this reason, he is regularly known as "The Engineer" by Kenyan football fans. He has stated that he looks up to Dutch striker Robin van Persie as a role model.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 September 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Upper Hill School2012National KSSSA5————5
Liberty Sports Academy2012Nairobi County Champions32————32
Tusker2013Kenyan Premier League182——20—202
Thika United2014Kenyan Premier League269————269
Gor Mahia2015Kenyan Premier League27192520329
Djurgården2016Allsvenskan271210——413213
Guizhou2017Chinese Super League9200———92
Girona (loan)2017–18La Liga14320———163
Kashiwa Reysol2018J1 League103—00——103
2019J2 League30270032——3329
2020J1 League3228—31——3529
Total7258006300007861
Al-Duhail2020–21Qatar Stars League96352069202220
2021–22Qatar Stars League2024420054—2930
2022–23Qatar Stars League22221022325103936
2023–24Qatar Stars League1815331054102722
2024–25Qatar Stars League19122311–212417
Total887913136319191011136125
Al-Arabi SC2025–26Qatar Stars League42––––42
Career total285+22316+151212231914+15350284

International

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

List of international goals scored by Michael Olunga
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 June 2015Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, RwandaSouth Sudan2–02–0Friendly
230 May 2015National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, ZambiaZambia1–01–22017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
37 October 2015Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel, MauritiusMauritius5–25–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
413 November 2015Nairobi City Stadium, Nairobi, KenyaCape Verde1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
522 November 2015Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaUganda2–02–02015 CECAFA Cup
625 November 2015Awassa Kenema Stadium, Awassa, EthiopiaBurundi1–11–12015 CECAFA Cup
74 October 2016Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR CongoDR Congo1–01–0Friendly
823 March 2017Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, KenyaUganda1–01–1Friendly
926 March 2017Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, KenyaDR Congo1–02–1Friendly
102–1
1110 June 2017National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra LeoneSierra Leone1–21–22019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
125 October 2017Basra Sports City, Basra, IraqIraq1–21–2Friendly
1327 March 2018Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, MoroccoCentral African Republic2–32–3Friendly
1414 October 2018Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, KenyaEthiopia1–03–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1515 June 2019Centro Deportivo Santa Ana, Madrid, SpainDR Congo1–01–1Friendly
1627 June 201930 June Stadium, Cairo, EgyptTanzania1–13–22019 Africa Cup of Nations
173–2
1814 November 2019Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, EgyptEgypt1–11–12021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
195 September 2021Nyamirambo Regional Stadium, Kigali, RwandaRwanda1–01–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2011 November 2021St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe, UgandaUganda1–01–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2115 November 2021Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, KenyaRwanda1–02–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2228 March 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, IranIran1–01–2Friendly
2320 November 2023Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory CoastSeychelles1–05–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
242–0
2523 March 2024Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, MalawiMalawi1–04–02024 Four Nations Football Tournament
262–0
2726 March 2024Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, MalawiZimbabwe1–13–12024 Four Nations Football Tournament
282–1
293–1
3011 October 2024Japoma Stadium, Douala, CameroonCameroon1–21–42025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3120 March 2025Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory CoastGambia1–23–32026 FIFA World Cup qualification
3223 March 2025Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, KenyaGabon1–21–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
339 September 2025Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, KenyaSeychelles4–05–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
345–0

Honours

Tusker

Gor Mahia

Kashiwa Reysol

Al-Duhail

Individual

External links