He is one of 3 "over-age" players, the others being PSG defender Godwin Okpara and striker Garba Lawal (who played in the 1996 squad which Kanu captained to the gold medal).

Chelsea's Celestine Babayaro is in the squad and they have said that he will be released only for the duration of the Games. The latest from Arsenal however was that Kanu would not be going to Sydney. We expect a statement from the club soon in the light of today's squad list. How much we'd miss Kanu will depend on other things, such as the promised signing of a new striker before the Champions League deadline, and how many of teams we are paired with in tomorrow's draw for the first round groups are based too far away for Bergkamp to make the away leg trips (see teams and seedings).

Kanu's younger brother, defender Ogbonna Kanu, is also named in the squad.