captains sit on the bench during matches, describing it as an “anomaly.”

Speaking on Channel Sports on Sunday, Oliseh expressed disapproval of the trend, insisting that the captain must be on the pitch to effectively lead the team.

“This I want to call an anomaly, and it started when we began having on-the-bench sitting captains,” Oliseh said.

“You can’t have that. You can’t have your captain sitting on the bench. In other words, you are saying it is an assistant that is leading the team.”

His comments come amid the recent return of Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa to the squad for the 2025 Unity Cup. Musa, who had been absent since the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, came off the bench in the 62nd minute during Nigeria’s 2-1 win over Ghana—before leaving the camp to attend his wedding.