John Chukwudi Utaka was born January 8, 1982 in Enugu, a Nigerian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Championnat National 2 side CS Sedan Ardennes. He is the older brother Peter Utaka is also a professional footballer .
Playing for several clubs across three continents, John Utaka first began with Arab Contractors and subsequently Ismaily of Egypt. He then went on to Al-Sadd of Qatar spending a season before joining RC Lens and later Rennes in France. He has represented Nigeria at two World Cups and three Africa Cup of Nations since his debut in 2002.
While in Egypt, he played alongside Mohammed Barakat, Islam El-Shater, and captain Mohamed Salah Abo Greisha and others.
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In July 2007, Utaka joined Portsmouth on a four-year deal for a fee of around £7 million. He scored his first goal on 11 August 2007 in a game against newly promoted Derby County. On May 17 2008, Portsmouth won the FA Cup with Utaka providing the cross for the winning goal which was scored by Nwankwo Kanu.
He signed for French first division side Montpellier on 29 January 2011. He made his debut for the new club on 26 February coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Olivier Giroud in a 0–0 draw with Sochaux. On 1 August 2013, Utaka joined the Turkish club Sivasspor on a two-year contract.
Utaka played for Nigeria until 2014 and was a participant at the 2002 World Cup. He started four of Nigeria’s six games in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, in which Nigeria finished in third place. He was also part of the Nigeria squad that participated in the 2010 World Cup.
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In July 2017, he signed with fourth-tier side CS Sedan. Utaka runs a football academy in Nigeria.
