Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry and defender Kolo Toure will mark the end of their Ivory Coast careers in this week’s friendly matches. Both players retired from international duty after helping the Elephants win the Africa Cup of Nations this year. But they are in the squad to face Angola in Abidjan on Thursday and away to Equatorial Guinea on Sunday. It means Barry and Toure can say farewell in front of their own fans at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium. The pair were given honorary places in a 28-man selection that includes all of the winning from the tournament as Ivory Coast uses the games to celebrate its success.

Can’t Nigerian authorities emulate this kind of gesture for our retiring stars that did us proud? Couldn’t they have invited Yobo at least to play a good bye game at Uyo yesterday? Just asking.