“My salary was N5m a month” – Ex-Super Eagles coach demands fair pay for Nigerian national team coaches

Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has voiced his disappointment over the stark pay disparity between Nigerian and foreign coaches in the country’s senior national football team setup, Soccernet.ng reports.

The former Nigerian international, who managed the Super Eagles in 2015, expressed his concerns on SuperSport’s Monday Night Football as per the Nation, questioning the pay structure that appears to favour foreign managers over their Nigerian counterparts.

“Some might not like what I’m about to say, but when I was coaching the Super Eagles, my salary was N5m a month—equivalent to about $12,850 at that time,” Oliseh revealed.

“The late Stephen Keshi won the African Cup of Nations on the same pay. Yet, when we hire foreign coaches, we pay them $70,000 or $56,000, while our best indigenous coaches earn just $12,500. Then we wonder why they don’t perform?”

Oliseh's tenure with the Super Eagles included an impressive run, recording only two losses in 14 matches, with 19 goals scored and just six conceded. 

The former Juventus midfielder successfully qualified Nigeria for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and to the group stages of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers before resigning after eight months.

Reflecting on this record, Oliseh argued that home-grown talent should be better recognised and fairly compensated.

Despite success stories like Gernot Rohr, who guided Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup, and Jose Peseiro’s role in securing a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Oliseh believes indigenous coaches have delivered admirable results with far less support.

He called for a more sustainable, equitable approach to coaching contracts, stating that the Nigerian football legacy must honour its own heroes.

Oliseh also noted that Nigeria's celebrated 1994 squad, which included players like Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, Stephen Keshi, Finidi George, and himself, was not motivated by entitlement when they pursued coaching roles with the national team.

Instead, he argued, these former players bring invaluable experience and are well-equipped to lead Nigeria back to glory.

Since his time with the Super Eagles, Oliseh has coached in the Netherlands and Germany.

His last managerial role was with German club SV 19 Straelen in 2022, where he stepped down after two months due to unsatisfactory results.