McDonald Mariga Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
McDonald Mariga
Personal information
Mariga with Inter Milan in 2010
Full name	McDonald Mariga Wanyama
Date of birth	(1987-04-04) 4 April 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth	Nairobi, Kenya
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Youth career
	Ulinzi Stars
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2003–2004	Tusker
2004–2005	Kenya Pipeline
2005–2006	Enköpings SK	1	(0)
2006–2007	Helsingborgs IF	37	(6)
2007–2010	Parma	62	(4)
2010–2014	Inter Milan	21	(1)
2011–2012	→ Real Sociedad (loan)	14	(0)
2013	→ Parma (loan)	13	(1)
2014–2015	Parma	9	(0)
2016–2017	Latina	41	(2)
2017–2018	Real Oviedo	15	(0)
2018–2019	Cuneo Calcio	0	(0)
National team
2003–2018	Kenya	40	(5)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

McDonald Mariga Wanyama (born 4 April 1987) is a former professional footballer from Kenya. He played as a defensive midfielder, which means he helped protect his team's goal.

Mariga made history as the first Kenyan footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League. This happened on 16 March 2010, when he played for Inter Milan. After his football career, he decided to get involved in politics in 2019. He aimed to become a Member of Parliament for the Kibera area in Kenya.

Club career
International career
Personal life
Political ambitions
Career statistics
- International goals
Honours
See also

Club career

Starting his journey

Mariga began his football career at a club called Ulinzi Stars. Later, he moved to Tusker FC and then to Kenya Pipeline. He was still in school during these early years.

Mariga was part of the "Golden Boys" team at Kamukunji High School. This team also included famous Kenyan striker Dennis Oliech. Together, they won two national championships in 2002 and 2003.

In 2005, Mariga moved to Sweden to play for Enköpings SK, a team in the third division. After just one season, he joined Helsingborgs IF in 2006. He quickly became successful there.

Playing for Parma

In August 2007, Mariga moved to Parma, a club in Italy's top league, Serie A. He first joined them on a loan deal. This meant Parma could try him out before deciding to buy him permanently.

Mariga played 35 games for Parma in the Serie B during the 2008–09 season. He scored three goals, helping his team get promoted back to Serie A for the next season.

In January 2010, Mariga almost signed with Manchester City in the English Premier League. However, he couldn't get a work permit, which is a special document needed to work in a country. Kenya's Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, later said Mariga did get the permit, but it was too late. The transfer window, which is the time clubs can buy and sell players, had already closed. If the transfer had gone through, Mariga would have been the first Kenyan to play in the Premier League. His younger brother, Victor Wanyama, later achieved this milestone in 2013.

Time at Inter Milan

On 1 February 2010, Mariga joined Inter Milan, one of Italy's biggest clubs. This was a special kind of deal where both clubs shared ownership of the player for a while. Inter Milan's chairman, Massimo Moratti, was very happy about Mariga joining the team.

Mariga played his first game for Inter Milan in a cup match against Fiorentina. In March 2010, he made history again. He became the first Kenyan to play in the UEFA Champions League, which is Europe's biggest club competition. He came on as a substitute against Chelsea.

Mariga thought he scored his first goal for Inter on 24 April 2010 against Atalanta. But the goal was officially given to another player because the ball touched him on the way in. Mariga did score a powerful header against Genoa in a game that Inter won 3–2.

In June 2010, Inter Milan bought Mariga completely. This meant they owned him fully. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Mariga was loaned to Real Sociedad, a club in Spain. After returning to Inter, he was loaned to Parma again in January 2013. He scored one goal during this loan spell. However, he got injured in a later game, which kept him out for the rest of the season. He returned to Inter but left the club in May 2014.

Later club career

On 4 September 2014, Mariga rejoined Parma, the team he had left to join Inter Milan in 2010.

In January 2016, he signed with Latina, another Italian club in Serie B.

On 31 July 2017, Mariga signed a one-year contract with Real Oviedo, a Spanish club in the Segunda División.

International career

Mariga scored his first goal for the Kenyan national team against Swaziland on 25 March 2007. He represented Kenya in many international matches throughout his career.

Personal life

Mariga comes from a family of footballers. His father, Noah Wanyama, was a left-winger who played for A.F.C. Leopards and the Kenya national football team.

His younger brother, Victor Wanyama, is also a professional football player. He currently plays for Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact. Mariga's other brothers, Thomas and Sylvester, also play football in the Kenyan Premier League. Their younger sister, Mercy, was the captain of her high school basketball team.

Political ambitions

In September 2019, Mariga decided to enter the world of politics in Kenya. He announced his plan to run for a seat in Parliament for the Kibra area. This election was happening because the previous Member of Parliament, Ken Okoth, had passed away.

Mariga was chosen by the Jubilee Party to be their candidate for the election. However, the Kenyan electoral commission, IEBC, did not allow Mariga to participate in the election. They said his name was not on their voter register, even though he had applied to register as a voter. Mariga tried to challenge this decision, but the issue was not resolved.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	25 March 2007	Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, Kenya	Swaziland	1–0	2–0	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.	14 June 2008	Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya	Zimbabwe	1–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	20 June 2009	Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, Kenya	Mozambique	2–1	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	11 August 2010	National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania	Tanzania	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5.	26 March 2011	Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya	Angola	2–1	2–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification