Mikel named captain of Nigeria’s Olympic contingent

A statement from the sports ministry said Mikel was chosen because of his role as a patriotic International footballer while Oshonaike was chosen because of her experience.

Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has been named Captain of Team Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The Chelsea midfielder who will be appearing at his first Olympics as part Samson Siasia’s 18-man squad will be assisted by female table tennis star Funke Oshonaike.

He is one of the two over aged players alongside South Africa Based Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi in Siasia’s squad.

A statement from the sports ministry said Mikel was chosen because of his role as a patriotic International footballer while Oshonaike was chosen because of her experience.

The statement read, “Mikel is a young, patriotic footballer of international status and we believe he will be a role model to the upcoming athletes while Funke Oshonaike is experienced and is one of the oldest athletes in the team.

“We believe that their combined efforts will bring goodwill to Team Nigeria and project the county’s image positively to the world.”

Mikel who made his national team debut in 2006 has made 64 appearances for the Eagles scoring 4 goals.

He was part of Nigeria’s victorious 2013 African Cup Of Nations squad while also appearing in 2006, 2008, 2010 African Cup Of Nation finishing with bronze in all three occasions.

He made his World Cup debut in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The 27th Summer Olympic Games starts in Rio on August 5 and will run till August 21.