NFF Under Fire As Oliseh Accuses Federation Of Embezzling World Cup Funds

NFF Under Fire As Oliseh Accuses Federation Of Embezzling World Cup Funds

By Admin 

Former Super Eagles captain and head coach, Sunday Oliseh, has levelled serious allegations against the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), claiming the governing body withheld a $1 million payment from FIFA that was intended to be shared with players who helped Nigeria qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Speaking on the Home Turf podcast, Oliseh said the players had an internal agreement with the federation to split the FIFA qualification bonus equally half for the federation and half for the 30 players who featured in the qualifying campaign. “We had an agreement: $1 million was coming from FIFA. We said, ‘Okay, let’s split it 50-50’ $500,000 for the federation, and $500,000 for the players,” Oliseh revealed.

“Each player would have earned around $18,000. But the only way that money could be distributed fairly was if I, as captain, was there to ensure it happened.”

According to the former Juventus midfielder, the NFF allegedly disbanded the team shortly after qualification was secured—effectively removing key senior players, including himself and assistant captain Finidi George, from the final World Cup squad.

"To ensure that money was not paid, they eliminated me and Finidi,” Oliseh continued.

“Eighty percent of the players who went to the 2002 World Cup didn’t participate in the qualifiers. That means they weren’t eligible for that money—and it was never paid to those who earned it.”

The claims further underscore long-standing concerns over transparency and governance within Nigerian football administration.

As of the time of reporting, the NFF has not issued a public response to the allegations.