The international careers of Shola Ameobi, Peter Odemwingie and Joseph Yobo looked to be at an end on Wednesday as Nigeria left the veteran trio out of their squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
They played for Nigeria at the World Cup but are among eight players from the 23-man squad that went to Brazil, where they reached the second round, who have been dropped.
Also left out is Victor Moses, who joined Odemwingie at Stoke City in the last days.
Instead, Nigeria recalled Schalke forward Chinedu Obasi and Spain-based midfielder Nosa Igiebor for the Group A qualifying matches against Congo on September 6 and South Africa on September 10.
Fullback Elderson Echiejile, who missed the World Cup because of injury, has also been picked but exactly who named the 23-man squad was not revealed by the Nigerian Football Federation as coach Stephen Keshi has yet to sign a promised contract renewal, local reports said.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Chigozie Agbim (Gombe United), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Vincent Enyeama (Lille)
Defenders: Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Elderson Echiejile (Monaco), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars), Godfrey Oboabona (Caykur Rizespor), Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod)
Midfielders: Omatsone Aluko (Hull City), Ramon Azeez (Almeira), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis), Joel Obi (Inter Milan), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio),
Forwards: Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Uche Nwofor (Heerenveen), Chinedu Obasi (Schalke), Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese), Christian Osagona (Enugu Rangers), Gbolahan Salami (Warri Wolves)
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MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Fight card
- Aliu Bamidele Lasisi (Nigeria) beat Artid Vamrungauea (Thailand) POINTS
- Julaidah Abdulfatah (Saudi Arabia) beat Martin Kabrhel (Czech Rep) POINTS
- Kem Ljungquist (Denmark) beat Mourad Omar (Egypt) TKO
- Michael Lawal (UK) beat Tamas Kozma (Hungary) KO
- Zuhayr Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) beat Mohammed Mahmoud (UK) POINTS
- Darren Surtees (UK) beat Kane Baker (UK) KO
- Chris Eubank Jr (UK) beat JJ McDonagh (Ireland) TKO
- Callum Smith (UK) beat George Groves (UK) KO
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
