'A bit weird' - Everton winger Iwobi highlights the difference between Nigeria and England invitation letters

Published: April 19, 2021

Everton winger Alex Iwobi has confessed that he didn't take it seriously when he was first called up to the Nigeria national team because the invitation letter was not professionally written.

The Hale End Academy graduate racked up eleven appearances in total for England's U16, U17 and U18 teams before switching his allegiance to his country of birth in 2015.

Though Iwobi was raised in England, he was quickly able to adapt to the Nigeria set-up as his two uncles Austin and Emmanuel Okocha previously turned out for the Super Eagles.

Speaking to Nedum Onuoha's podcast, Iwobi said :"When I first got the invitation, compared to how England used to give our invitations, this seemed like it's a joke.

"I'm lucky enough to obviously have an uncle that played so he already knew how the system worked.

"When they showed me the invitation, I said is this true, this is a bit weird, it doesn't seem official.

"The organisation between Nigeria and England is very, very different".

The 24-year-old Iwobi is five games away from a reaching half a century of caps for the Super Eagles, less than six years after his senior debut.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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