Noah Okafor, whose father is Nigerian, has announced he will no longer play for Switzerland under coach Murat Yakin.
Leeds United star Noah Okafor, 26, was mainly benched this summer and made a brief appearance when the Swiss national team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Now Okafor announced, via his Instagram account, that he is putting his national team career on hold until further notice. He is currently unavailable to play.
“These are the hardest words I have ever written in my career. After careful consideration, I have decided to retire from the Swiss national team until further notice,” he wrote on Instagram.
Okafor is clear that the decision has nothing to do with limited playing time for the Swiss national team. Rather, it has to do with him not wanting to play under current national team captain Murat Yakin.
The 26-year-old said he was treated poorly during the World Cup.
“I would love to continue playing for Switzerland and give everything for our country, but under the current circumstances I can no longer do that,” he wrote and continued:”My decision has nothing to do with my playing time. Things have happened that have affected me deeply. Trust has been broken and promises have not been kept. When I got to play against Algeria, even small mistakes far from our goal were met with a reaction that has hurt me deeply.”
“I have thought a lot about this (hanging up my national team boots) and I have decided that I no longer want to play for the national team under the current national team manager.”
At the same time, Okafor said he thinks Yakin is doing a good job.
“Murat Yakin is doing a fantastic job and has achieved something historic with Switzerland. The success proves that he and his work are right.”
The player also does not require any special treatment going forward.
“Just mutual respect and trust, but I don’t see that in the coming years.”
The Swiss federation in turn responds as follows, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick:”Noah personally informed us today that he will no longer play for the national team until further notice. We respect his decision and wish him good luck and success in his club team.”
Okafor was not part of the Swiss squad during last year’s World Cup qualifiers and criticised the national team management, but he was still selected for the World Cup.
The 26-year-old has scored two goals in 26 senior caps for Switzerland over the years.
He joined Leeds from Milan in the summer of 2025. With Leeds, he has so far delivered eight goals and four assists in 38 appearances.
