2002 World Cup: The deal that cost Sunday Oliseh his place 

Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has opened up about alleged financial injustices that plagued the Nigerian national team during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, claiming that he and other players were denied their deserved bonuses.

Speaking on the Home Turf Podcast, Oliseh recounted how FIFA awarded Nigeria $1 million for qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, an amount the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had agreed to split evenly: $500,000 for the players and $500,000 for the federation. According to Oliseh, the players’ share should have been divided among the 30 squad members, roughly $18,000 each.

However, Oliseh alleged a deliberate scheme that prevented him from participating in the tournament, ensuring the players would not receive their bonuses. “The only thing was that for the guys to be paid, Sunday Oliseh will have to be in the team, so that they won’t rob them of the money. For that, Sunday Oliseh was eliminated from the team and his assistant,” he said.

Oliseh added that while the team went on to reach the semi-finals and ultimately finished third, the squad was disbanded immediately afterward, leaving many players uncompensated. “Most of the players who went for the World Cup did not even play in the qualifiers. So that means they were not even paid that $500,000… till today I’ve not been paid for qualifying Nigeria,” Oliseh revealed.

The former midfield also addressed criticisms that he had abandoned the national team. “Do you believe a man who has started playing for you since 1993 to make you great will now say in 2002, ‘to hell with you’?” he asked, emphasizing that he and other senior players had always acted in the team’s best interests.