Nigeria international, John Mikel Obi has officially changed his name after a mistake in 2003.
Mikel was born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna but a mistake during the registration process for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Cup changed it to Mikel.
The Nigeria Football Association (NFF) mistakenly submitted ‘Michael’ as ‘Mikel’ for the tournament in Finland.
A young Mikel obi impressed in that tournament scoring for Nigeria during a win over Australia.
Despite sticking with the name since then, the midfielder has been using his original name ‘Michael’ for official purposes like drivers licensee, car documents, international passports, etc.
According to the UK Evening Standard, the 29-year-old has now officially changed his name to the widely accepted ‘Mikel’.
The midfielder is currently with Nigerian Dream Team VI in the United States where they are camping ahead of the football event of 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
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