Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Sunday Oliseh, has alleged that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) withheld a $1 million payment from FIFA meant to reward the national team for qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

Speaking on the Home Turf podcast, Oliseh claimed there was a clear agreement to divide the money equally between the federation and the players.

However, he said the NFF failed to honour the arrangement after disbanding the team shortly before the tournament in Japan and South Korea.

“We were going to the 2002 World Cup and we had an agreement. $1 million was going to come from FIFA’s money and we agreed to split it 50-50. You take $500k and we take $500k,” Oliseh said.

He explained that the players’ half, amounting to $500,000, was supposed to be shared among the 30 players who participated in the qualification campaign, translating to roughly $18,000 each.

“But the only way the players would have been paid is if Oliseh was there to ensure his colleagues got their share,” he continued. “To get that money, NFF eliminated Oliseh and his assistant captain, Finidi George.”

Oliseh alleged that after Nigeria booked their ticket to the World Cup, the federation dissolved the squad that achieved the feat and replaced most of the players before the tournament.

“We qualified for the finals, and they disbanded the team. They made sure we did not get our share. The team that went to that World Cup, 80% of that team didn’t play in the qualifiers. That means they didn’t get the share of that money,” he said.

Oliseh, who captained Nigeria during parts of the qualification campaign, has long been vocal about issues of mismanagement and lack of transparency in Nigerian football.

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