Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Sunday Oliseh, has strongly opposed the continued appointment of foreign managers to lead the Nigerian national team, arguing that competent indigenous coaches are being unfairly overlooked.
Oliseh maintained that Nigerians possess the technical capacity and pedigree to handle the Super Eagles, and should be given the opportunity to do so.
“I am totally against having that role not being handed over to a Nigerian because we have qualified Nigerians who can do that job,” Oliseh said while speaking on national television on Sunday.
His views came amid the current term of Éric Chelle, a French-born former Mali international who was chosen by the Nigeria Football Federation to succeed interim coach Augustine Eguavoen in January 2025.
Chelle has already gone unbeaten in his first five matches in charge, with three wins and two draws, including Nigeria’s 1-1 tie with Russia in June.
Despite this good start, Oliseh questioned the long-term reliance on foreigners, noting that such selections stifle local development and demonstrate a lack of confidence in domestic ability.
Oliseh, a former defensive midfielder recognized for his tactical intelligence and physical presence, played for notable European clubs including Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, and Juventus.
Between 2015 and 2016, he led the Super Eagles in 14 games, losing just two matches before resigning due to contract violations and unpaid entitlements.
Aside from coaching difficulties, Oliseh criticized what he saw as a troubling trend in the national team: captains not playing consistently.
“This I want to call an anomaly, and it started when we began having on-the-bench sitting captains,” he said.
“You can’t have that. You can’t have your captain sitting on the bench. In other words, you are saying it is an assistant that is leading the team. The Super Eagles’ role is the most important in Nigerian football.”
He went on to discuss the significance of tactical roles in the squad, particularly the defensive midfield position, which he previously held with with distinction.
“When you are talking of a defensive midfield role, I was the one who brought in the young man Wilfred Ndidi. It was at the same time I brought in Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho, and I gave them their first call-up because they had the quality to do it,” he said.
Speaking specifically about the demands of the holding midfield role, Oliseh stressed the need for discipline and tactical clarity.
“Wilfred Ndidi has the quality to do it. But if you are going to play that role, you have to be disciplined. Secondly, you have to have clear-cut instructions that are laid out,” he explained.
“That is why a tactician is very important. If you are going to play that role as a central defensive midfielder, for me, it’s one of the most important roles in football. You are the umbrella of the defenders.”
Oliseh’s words comes barely three months before Nigeria’s important 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa.
The Super Eagles are presently fourth in Group C with seven points from four games, six points behind leaders South Africa, and must win all of their remaining matches to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Chelle, 47, started his tenure with a win and a draw in the March qualifiers. However, with matches against Rwanda, South Africa, Lesotho, and the Benin Republic yet to play, pressure is rising on both the coach and the NFF to deliver success and return the country to the global showpiece event for the first time since 2018.