Nigeria new coach Sunday Oliseh changes the media rules of engagement

The Sunday Oliseh coach has modified the media game with the way they handle the criticism of his proposed policy on first division-only players for the Super Eagles

In 2002, a group of Nigerian footballers became public enemy after the Super Eagles’ failure to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Mali.

Alongside the team’s captain and some of the older players in the squad who demanded for better welfare from the administrators of the Nigeria Football Federation, they were hounded out and left to the wolf pack to decimate as the media dealt with and the public turned against them.

Sunday Oliseh was that captain. Alongside key players like Finidi George, he was dropped from the trip to the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea as they both went into early retirement.

In a June 2015 post on his personal website while analyzing the imminent crucifixion of national team goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, Oliseh disapproved of the manner in which the media and the NFF went about it as he likened it to the situation in which he found himself 13 years ago.

It would never have happened, he wrote, if not for “the absence of social media” with which he could have told his own story and fought back the bloodthirsty goons, whose misinformation sent him out of the national team at 27, as he was just reaching his peak.

This Monday, Oliseh showed the media what he has learned and the shape of things to come as he took to YouTube to dispel criticism of his plan to call up only Nigerian footballers playing in top division clubs.

As the storm gathered early, with many writers and analysts claiming that the 40-year-old had made a wrong first move, the former defensive midfielder changed the narrative with a masterstroke five minutes video aptly titled “Periodic update from the horse’s mouth on the Super Eagles’ evolution” where he discussed his reasons.

“At the moment there has been a lot of talk as regards the fact that we have decided that first division players are the players that we found eligible to serve our country,” Oliseh said. “We feel the best has to play for us and the best in any country play in the first division.”

With that recording, the former Juventus and Borussia Dortmund man took the game away from the media and established his own rules of engagement.

If his predecessors were left at the mercy of the rumours in the media many times during their reign which eventually led to their sacking, Oliseh’s social media savvy has shown he would not be caught unawares. In fact, he shows will play the media as an equal. Having had enough time after football to get more education than many of his peers, Oliseh brings to the Nigeria role a new sense of optimism and understanding of the modern media space which would see him able to push his own agenda as he sees fit. With the social media tools available – Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube and Instagram as well as his personal website, the new Nigeria coach does not have to wait for organized press conferences to address fans about the progress of his work. He will neither be at the mercy of journalists to speak for him when problems eventually crop up with the federation.

With Twitter, where he now has a verified account, it means he can also easily reach out to old and potential players across the world at a click. He does not have to be in the same room to have a healthy conversation with his players. He can appraise their game and retweet their achievements. Think of it, he will not complain of not having phone numbers of star players. And potential players can send links of their YouTube highlights straight to him with the knowledge that he received it.

However, his ability to circumvent the media boys to get his message out could breed contempt on the long run.

Journalists have always seen themselves as the gateway between the coach, the team and the fans, but with Oliseh’s new deal, this could all change.

Relegating the media to transcribing his vlogs and tweets could mean trouble on the long run. Oliseh would need to strike a balance. There will be no use alienating them.

Still, his media savvy promises a whole new experience for all. Young coaches across the country and all over the world would be learning from this debonair young man who is not letting anyone control his personal narrative.



It is a new era. Sit back, relax, welcome to the Sunday Oliseh Show.