I’m Totally Against a Foreigner Coaching Super Eagles — Oliseh

Former Super Eagles captain and one-time head coach, Sunday Oliseh, has come out strongly against the continued hiring of foreign coaches for Nigeria’s senior national football team, describing the practice as detrimental to the growth of local coaching talent.

In a recent media interview, Oliseh argued that Nigeria has a pool of competent indigenous coaches who understand the country’s football ecosystem better than any outsider. He said their familiarity with the players, football culture, and expectations gives them an edge that is often overlooked due to bias.

“I’m totally against a foreign coach leading the Super Eagles,” Oliseh stated. “It’s not just an emotional stance. It’s based on experience and what I’ve seen during my time in the national team as both a player and coach. We have competent coaches who have what it takes to lead the team successfully if they’re given the proper support.”

Oliseh, who coached the national team between 2015 and 2016, criticized what he described as an inferiority complex that drives the preference for foreign managers. He argued that most expatriates hired in the past delivered results no better than their local counterparts.

“Except for coaches like Clemens Westerhof and maybe one or two others, most of the expatriates we’ve hired didn’t do anything extraordinarily better than our own,” he said.

He warned that the Nigerian Football Federation’s continued reliance on foreign tacticians could hinder the development of a homegrown football philosophy and coaching system.

“If we keep importing coaches, how do we build our own football identity or mentor the next generation of Nigerian coaches?” he asked.

Oliseh urged the Nigeria Football Federation to invest in developing local coaches by providing them with the necessary tools, opportunities, and institutional respect to succeed.

A key figure in Nigeria’s golden football generation, Sunday Oliseh won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and played in two FIFA World Cups. His recent comments have reignited national debate on the future of football coaching in Nigeria and the importance of charting a self-reliant path forward.