The ex-international insists that having a viable domestic
league in the country will affect the Super Eagles positively
Former Nigeria captain Sunday Oliseh has said the surest bet
for the country to produce another golden generation in
football is by developing the local league.
Defending champions Super Eagles failed to qualify for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea following a
draw in their last qualifying game against South Africa.
Oliseh, who played 63 times for Nigeria said country’s football
house must be put in order else the Super Eagles will
continue to crawl.
"We have got technical problems and administrative problems
- it is too much for one nation, even if you are Nigeria,” Oliseh
told BBC Sport.
"At the moment it is bleak. We need to face up to the job and
get organised."
"During the 1990s a lot of the players were products of the
Nigerian league. Those who were playing in Europe had only
left two or three years before. Myself, I had moved to Europe
only four years before the 1994 World Cup.
"It was not as if it was Europe that made us - the Nigerian
league produced us, it was so competitive then, it was viable
and credible.
"The national team does not create players - you select your
best players from your clubs to play in the national team.
"But now our attention is more focused on the national team
and we have neglected the domestic league, that is the major
problem in Nigerian football.
"If we cannot get the league in order we will never have
another golden generation."
The former Juventus and Borussia Dortmund star suggested
that to move the solve the problems militating against the
growth of football in Nigeria, round peg must be placed into
round holes.
"To fix it we have to get our house in order and it is not too
farfetched, the solution to this. For example, if we have a
Football Federation president who is doing well, let's leave
him in the job,” he continued.
"It is great that Nigerian are passionate about football, that
they have opinions like a coach. But in reality, everybody
thinks they know football - not because they play football but
because they know football. It doesn't work like that.
"We need to let people who are technicians do the technical
work. If you are going to talk about tactics or physical, let
that be somebody who has that expertise,” he concluded.