Out of the over 200 million Nigerians, no one would have believed that Eric Chelle was going to be appointed as the new head coach of the Super Eagles
Out of the over 200 million Nigerians, no one would have believed that Eric Chelle was going to be appointed as the new head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
His appointment is very shocking because he was never part of the plans among Nigerian fans.
Eric Sekou Chelle, 47, is no new to international football after leading the Malian senior national team to the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Born to a French father and an Ivorian mother in Ivory Coast, the head coach was sacked by the Malian Football Federation due to poor performances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Now, he has the opportunity to redeem his image after getting a dream job as the head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Nigeria has failed to appoint a new coach since Jose Peseiro left soon after the 2023 AFCON where he led the Super Eagles to a runner-up finish. German manager Bruno Labadia was appointed as Nigeria’s coach but resigned a few days later.
His main job is to qualify Nigeria for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Nigeria Football Federation’s official statement
The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Seniomen’sen national football team, Super Eagles.
At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd January 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee recommended the appointment of the former Coach of the Senior men’s national team of Mali as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles. This recommendation was on Tuesday, 7th January endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee.
Chelle, who won five caps for the Aiglons of Mali and coached clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne and MC Oran, has been Head Coach of the Aiglons since 2022.
At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire, Chelle’s Mali came very close to a place in the semi-finals, losing to hosts and eventual winners Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 after extra time, after leading by a lone goal until the final minute of regulation time.
The 47-year-old featured for Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres and Chamois Niortais in France during his playing career.
His appointment is with immediate effect, and he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, with the next round of matches (Matchdays 5 & 6) taking place in March.
COMMENTS