Sunday Oliseh has firmly denied social media speculation that he is Michael Olise’s father, but in the same breath made clear his frustration that one of the most gifted players of his generation chose to represent France rather than the Super Eagles.
The rumours had been circulating for a while, and on this occasion Sunday Oliseh addressed them directly. The former Super Eagles captain and coach, speaking on Global Football Insights, confirmed that Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise is not his son. He added, with a touch of dry humour, that the surname is spelled differently anyway, pointing out that Olise carries no letter ‘h’ at the end. But the denial of paternity came wrapped in something else entirely: a genuine admission of sadness that a player of Olise’s quality is not representing Nigeria.
“When I watch Olise play, it frustrates me,” Oliseh said. “I can’t help but think that he should not be donning the French national team jersey; he ought to be wearing Nigeria’s green-white-green.” For Nigerian football fans watching one of the continent’s most exciting talents in France colours, that frustration will resonate deeply. New Bet9ja users following the Super Eagles’ ongoing talent search can find the Bet9ja welcome bonus at FootballInNigeria.com.ng before the Unity Cup in May.
The Olise Eligibility Story
Michael Olise held four international options. He was eligible for Nigeria through his father’s heritage, for England by birth, for Algeria through his mother’s lineage, and for France where he developed as a player. He chose France, representing Les Bleus at U18, U21, U23 and senior levels before making the commitment permanent. The NFF’s pursuit of him was not passive. Former coach Gernot Rohr included Olise in the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho, though he did not participate in either match. There was also a scheduled meeting with former NFF president Amaju Pinnick in London ahead of the 2022 World Cup that Olise missed. The signals were never encouraging, and ultimately France got their man. Nigerian football fans tracking the latest developments in the ongoing dual-nationality recruitment debate can use the YOHAIG welcome offer before the next Super Eagles fixtures.
Oliseh’s comments place him alongside Emmanuel Babayaro, who spoke earlier this week about the NFF taking the “leftovers” from dual-national players. The two assessments come from different angles but arrive at the same conclusion: Nigeria has repeatedly failed to secure commitments from players who chose other nations first, and the federation needs a more proactive recruitment strategy to change that pattern.
Oliseh’s Assessment of Olise as a Player
Alongside the frustration came genuine admiration. Oliseh said that when he first watched Olise at Crystal Palace, he felt there was something slightly missing, but that at Bayern Munich the full picture has come into focus. “I believe that one day he might even be in contention for the Ballon d’Or because of his remarkable skills,” Oliseh said. “Defenders appear to be at a loss against him; they even resort to fouling and insulting him to provoke a reaction, yet he remains composed.” A player capable of Ballon d’Or contention, who had Nigerian heritage and could have committed to green and white, now plays for one of international football’s most competitive squads. It is the kind of loss that stays with you. New users following Nigerian football can get the Bet9ja’s YOHAIG code at bet9japromotioncode.com.ng before the next round of European fixtures.
📌 Did You Know?
- Michael Olise was born in London in 2001 to a Nigerian father and an Algerian-French mother, giving him eligibility for four different national teams before he committed to France, where he came through the youth development system.
- Sunday Oliseh scored what is widely regarded as one of the greatest goals in World Cup history when he struck a long-range effort against Spain at France 1998, a goal that remains one of the most celebrated moments in Nigerian football history.
- Michael Olise joined Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024 from Crystal Palace, ending a Premier League career at Selhurst Park that had established him as one of the most technically gifted attackers in the English top flight.
- Gernot Rohr, the former Nigeria coach who included Olise in a qualifying squad, managed the Super Eagles between 2016 and 2021, overseeing a period in which the NFF made multiple approaches to dual-national players with varying degrees of success.
- France’s Ligue 1 and the French football development system have produced a higher number of African-heritage players who chose Les Bleus over their ancestral nations than any other European country, reflecting the depth of France’s youth academy network across its population.
- The ongoing debate about dual-national recruitment in Nigerian football this week has featured both Oliseh and Emmanuel Babayaro commenting publicly, representing two of the most prominent former Super Eagles players weighing in on the NFF’s talent strategy.
- Olise’s maternal grandmother is Algerian and he holds an Algerian passport as well as a British one, making him one of the few active players in world football who was genuinely eligible for four different senior national teams before making his international commitment.
