Former Nigeria captain Sunday Oliseh has criticised Africa's qualifying system for the 2014 World Cup.

Sunday Oliseh played in two World Cups for Nigeria, with a personal highlight coming with the stunning long-range strike that beat Spain at the 1998 finals

For the first time since the 1990 finals, a series of play-off games will decide the continent's five qualifiers.
"I think Africa is in trouble as I was very disappointed when I saw the format they made up," Oliseh told BBC Sport.
"Let's not forget what happened when Algeria played Egypt in (2010) qualifying, when there was fighting, yet now we will have five play-offs."
"Let's hope that we don't have five incidents like this."
Security at high-profile African football matches has long been the subject of some concern.

In November 2009, bitter North African rivals Algeria and Egypt were forced to meet in a one-legged play-off after both ended their World Cup qualifying group with identical records.
Such was the intensity of the match in neutral Sudan that diplomatic relations between the two countries were affected as violence broke out between rival fans in four different countries.
"This is what scares me (about the new format)," Oliseh told the BBC's flagship African sports programme Fast Track.
Africa's qualifying format for all World Cups from 1994 onwards was changed after post-match violence broke out during play-offs used to determine the 1990 finalists.
Once again, Egypt and Algeria were involved - with the Egyptian team doctor blinded with a bottle in a post-match fracas following the Pharaohs' tense victory in November 1989.
Since the 1994 finals, Africa's World Cup qualifiers have been decided by the teams who emerged top from selective qualifying groups.
Yet for the 2014 finals, five different play-offs will take place to determine who reaches Brazil from the second round of qualifying.
The teams who top ten different qualifying groups in the second round will reach the third and final round.
The draw for Africa's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign was made on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.
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More On : Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia

African countries now know the path they will need to take in order to make it to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. While some coaches and federations on the continent are worried about their pairings, others are cautiously optimistic.

Five countries will represent Africa in the 20th edition of the World Cup finals from July 13, 2014 in Brazil. Goal.com compiled some reactions across the continent following the draw which revealed the 10 qualification groups.

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GHANA

"All these countries, particularly Sudan and Zambia, are all big footballing countries. I don’t know why we keep drawing Sudan in every competition, Zambia have also been doing very well and countries that have never been to the World Cup are now all eager to get there, which makes it even more difficult for us. This new pairing appears much more difficult than previous ones."

- Kwesi Appiah, Ghana coach to MTNFootball

Opponents: Sudan,Zambia, Lesotho/Burundi

KENYA

Opponents: Malawi,Nigeria,Seycheles,Djibouti - Namibia

"We are favourites, of course, to make it to the group stage of the qualifiers, but we must not underrate our opponents. Unless we plan well, we will be shocked. You never know, maybe we can make it to the final round of the qualifiers. In the last three years, we have played Nigeria three times and although they have won, the gulf between us is not very wide. We have also played Malawi and I can say we are more or less equals."

- Zedekiah Otieno, Kenya coach

NIGERIA

"We could not have asked for a better draw than this, but we all know that there are no easy matches any more. All matches will be played like our lives depend on it. Only serious-minded players will prosecute our World Cup qualifiers and we need the support of all Nigerians. Thank you Nigerians for this great opportunity to serve our nation. With the support of almighty God and soccer-loving Nigerians we won't disappoint."

- Samson Siasia, Nigeria coach to MTNFootball

Opponents: Malawi, Seycheles/Kenya, Djibouti, Namibia

SOUTH AFRICA

Opponents: Central African Republic, Botswana, Somalia/Ethiopia

"For sure it’s kind of a good group for us.

"I’m sure the other teams are not happy to have us in the group. It will be hard, though."

- Pitso Mosimane, South Africa coach to Fifa.com

ZAMBIA

Opponents: Sudan,Ghana, Lesotho/Burundi

"We are in a tough draw but it could have been worse. I think we have enough fire power to qualify to the next round although we should be wary of Ghana, who in my view are currently the best team on the continent. What we will do at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals will surely be an indicator of how far we can go in the World Cup qualifiers. So it is important for us to do well in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon."

- Kalusha Bwalya, FA boss

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