Peter Odemwingie, a former Super Eagles attacker, has joined the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).

PGA announced the admission of Odemwingie into its ranks in a video on Tuesday.

The association is the body that organises tours for professional golfers around the globe.

Speaking on his induction, the former Super Eagles attacker said he fell in love with golf during the latter days of his football career.

He highlighted the difficulty of adapting to the “loneliness” of golf after his career in a “group sport”.

“I’m really proud of all of myself and my friends who are graduating today as well. It is a long journey. I fell in love with the game,” Odemwingie said.

“I play lots of pro-ams as an amateur. I am coming from a football background. I had a decent-level career in a group sport. Now I am in a different sport, sometimes you can be lonely in golf — just you and your caddie, if you have one.

“And seeing what the PGA professionals enjoy. I pass the playing ability test, I was accepted on the programme and I was excited that day as I am today.”

Odemwingie, born in Uzbekistan to a Russian mother and a Nigerian father, made his Super Eagles debut in 2002. He made 63 appearances for the men’s national team.

He featured for Nigeria in the 2014 World Cup, scoring against Bosnia Hezergovania in the group stage to secure the country’s promotion to the round of 16.

Odemwingie began his football career at Bendel Insurance before moving to Europe with La Louvre FC, then Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow.

He then joined West Brom, Cardiff City, and Stoke City in the English Premier League (EPL).

Odemwingie retired from football in 2019.

Denmark’s male footballers have refused a salary increase for playing for the national side to gain their female counterparts equal basic pay, the players’ union said on Friday.

“The men’s team chose not to ask for a salary increase … to improve the conditions of the women’s team,” union spokesperson Magnus Hviid told AFP.

He welcomed “an extraordinary measure to help take this small step in the right direction”, but acknowledged there were “still more glass ceilings to break to ensure equal opportunities and conditions within national teams”.

Hviid said the action “obtained the same basic salary for the women’s national team and the men’s national team, as well as better insurance coverage for the women’s team”.

The agreement, signed at the end of May, provides for identical match bonuses for women and men during away matches.

However for the moment due to no bonus for home matches, there remains a disparity in the overall pay between the women’s and men’s national teams.

The Danish Football Federation (DBU) and the union have agreed to bring forward negotiations on a new deal for the women’s national team after the summer break.

Denmark are competing in Euro 2024 and are joint second in Group C after two draws against England and Slovenia.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have dropped eight places from 30th to 38th in the world based on FIFA’s latest rankings.

According to the list released on Thursday by the world football governing body, the three-time African champions have also moved two steps behind to the fifth-best team on the continent.

Nigeria’s current rating is due to uninspiring results in the just-concluded round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

In June, the Eagles drew 1-1 against South Africa in their fourth game of the qualifiers and lost 2-1 to the Benin Republic in the following match.

The team’s latest string of performances condemned Nigeria to fifth place in the qualification group, having previously drawn against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

The results also mounted pressure on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which announced it would appoint an “expatriate” technical adviser for the team.

Shortly after the NFF’s announcement, George Finidi resigned as the Super Eagles head coach after just two games in charge.

Morocco and Senegal maintained their lead as the best African teams, while Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire climbed to third and fourth on the continent.

Meanwhile, Argentina remained number one globally, with France and Belgium in second and third. Brazil leapfrogged England to fourth in the global rankings.

The next FIFA world ranking will be released on July 18, 2024.