By Rasheed Adewuyi, New York
Sunday Oliseh Alleges NFF Plot to Undermine His CAF Role at AFCON
Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has alleged that senior officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) attempted to sabotage his role as a Confederation of African Football (CAF) match analyst and commentator during the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
In a video posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, the former Juventus midfielder claimed that the officials wrote to CAF requesting his removal from the AFCON commentary team, accusing him of not being sufficiently supportive of the Super Eagles.
“Their beef, they claimed, was that I wasn’t supporting the Super Eagles enough,” Oliseh said. “In other words, they wanted me to lie or cheat. They expected me to tell a global audience across 170 nations that the Super Eagles were better against Tanzania even when the reality on the pitch was the opposite.”
Oliseh stressed that his responsibility as a professional analyst was to the truth and to the game, not to sentiment or what he described as false narratives. He rejected any suggestion that his objective analysis reflected a lack of patriotism or commitment to Nigeria.
“I am still puzzled at how any sane person could have the audacity to dispute my love or my desire for the Super Eagles to succeed,” he added. “It is obvious they didn’t like my objective analysis. When you attack a man for doing his job with integrity, you are not being patriotic, you are being irrational. We are witnessing a kind of intentional deranged behaviour where truth is treated as the enemy.”
According to Oliseh, despite the alleged pressure from some Nigerian officials, CAF declined the request to remove him and instead entrusted him with commentary duties for both the semi-final and final matches of the tournament.
He further recounted a personal incident that, in his view, highlighted the contradiction in the actions of those seeking his removal.
“One of the loudest people who wanted me sacked sent his grandson to me in Morocco,” Oliseh said. “The boy sent me a WhatsApp message asking for help. I didn’t respond, not because of the boy, but because of the insanity. How do you try to destroy a man in the morning and send your family to seek help from him in the evening?”
Oliseh’s standing with CAF was further underlined towards the end of the tournament, as he was selected by the continental governing body to co-host and conduct the draws for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Rabat, Morocco, on January 13, 2026.