Sunday Oliseh has publicly denied being the father of Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise, blaming the player's decision to represent France for the rumour. The former Super Eagles coach told Global Football Insights that messages accusing him of sabotage arrived after the 23-year-old pledged to Les Bleus despite holding Nigerian, English and Algerian eligibility. Olise, capped at every French age group, ignored overtures from the Nigeria Football Federation, including a place in the 2021 AFCON qualifying squad against Benin and Lesotho and a pre-2022 World Cup meeting with ex-NFF president Amaju Pinnick in London. "He is not my son, and his surname Olise does not even have an 'h' at the end," Oliseh said, adding that watching the forward in French colours "frustrates" him. Still, the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner praised the attacker's rise from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich and tipped him as a future Ballon d'Or contender, noting that Bundesliga defenders now "resort to fouling and insulting him to provoke a reaction."
Sunday Oliseh's irritation at Michael Olise's choice of France over Nigeria is less about paternity gossip and more about the NFF's chronic failure to lock down dual-national gems before European federations swoop. The federation courted the winger with squad invitations and a London sit-down with Amaju Pinnick, yet never sealed the emotional deal; Olise slipped away and is now a French regular.
This repeats a pattern that saw Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and others pledge to England while the NFF dithered. Bureaucratic sluggishness, lean financial incentives and the Super Eagles' fading prestige make the green-white-green jersey easy to refuse, especially when France or England dangle structured pathways and World Cup certainty.
For local fans, every Olise dribble in a Bleus shirt is a reminder that raw Nigerian talent is enriching rival nations. Grassroots coaches lose leverage, scouts lose bargaining chips and the national team loses match-winners it never really had.
Until the NFF builds a coherent, well-funded diaspora recruitment unit and fixes the Super Eagles' brand, expect more Olises to bloom abroad while Nigeria harvests only the surname.
