JOHN OBI MIKEL TO CAPTAIN NIGERIA AT RIO OLYMPICS

John Mikel Obi Gets captain band for rio Olympics 2016 kickoff.com

Mikel will lead the under-23 team in Brazil, with the first round of fixtures set to take place on 4 August. The 29-year-old has been selected as one of three permitted overage players in the team.

The Nigeria head of mission for the Olympics, Christian Ohaa, believes Mikel will guide the young players in the squad.

"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," Ohaa told SuperSport.

"We believe that their combined efforts will bring goodwill to Team Nigeria and project the county's image positively to the world."
Nigeria are in Group B alongside Sweden, Colombia and Japan and could potentially meet South Africa in the quarter-final stage.