By Eniwoke Ibagere BBC Sport, Abuja

Okocha apologised for his omission

Nigeria captain Austin "Jay-Jay" Okocha missed Saturday's Nations Cup qualifier against Malawi because he did not come to Abuja with his international passport for the tie.

It is a standing rule that players passports must be sighted by Caf officials during pre-match formalities to confirm their identities.

Okocha's forgetfulness meant he was ineligible to feature in the game, which Nigeria won 4-1.

The midfielder, who sat out the entire game against Malawi on the bench, admitted his error and subsequently apologised to coach Christian Chukwu.

Okocha, originally listed in the starting line-up, lost his place to Italy-based Christian Obodo.

Match kick-off, scheduled for 1500 GMT, was also delayed for 30 minutes by Senegalese referee Ndoye Falla as Nigerian FA officials rushed to the Eagles' hotel camp to get passports needed for the players' eligibility.

"The incident affected us at the start of the game," Poland-based winger Ifeanyi Ekwueme, in his first Nigerian home game, told BBC Sport.

"We were still a little nervous at kick-off and that partly explained why we conceded that goal early in the match."

FA secretary-general Taiwo Ogunjobi said he would investigate why those responsible for the mishap left the documents at the hotel.

Ogunjobi ordered an investigation

Nigerian teams have a history of poor preparations for matches.

In a Nations Cup qualifier in 1991, the Eagles' playing shorts were forgotten at their Ota hotel camp, some 50 kms from Lagos - venue of the match.

The players cleverly cut their tracksuit trousers to the length of shorts to play the match, which they won 7-1.

In 1996, Nigerian officials forgot passports of the under-17 team in Lagos as the players filed out to take on Benin Republic in a World Cup qualifying match in Ibadan.