Eric Chelle To Arrive in Nigeria With Three Assistants To Sign Super Eagles Contract

• The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed the appointment of Eric Sekou Chelle as the new Super Eagles coach
• The 49-year-old is set to resume with immediate effect after his appointment was confirmed on Tuesday night
• Chelle will be the Super Eagles’ first permanent manager in over six months since the resignation of Finidi George

The Super Eagles have a new coach after almost seven months as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed Eric Sekou Chelle as the new coach of Nigeria’s senior national team.

The Nigerian football body’s Executive Committee approved the Technical and Development Sub-Committee's suggestion to appoint the 49-year-old as Super Eagles' new coach.

According to the NFF, Chelle's appointment is effective immediately, and he will be responsible for steering the Super Eagles to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.

Nigeria currently runs the risk of missing out on two consecutive World Cup tournaments after starting the 2026 qualifiers on a disappointing note with no win from four matches played.

The Super Eagles have only garnered three points and are ranked fifth in Group C behind Rwanda, South Africa, and Benin who all have seven points while Lesotho is fourth with five points.

Chelle to arrive in Nigeria with three assistants

Eric Chelle, the newly appointed head coach of the Super Eagles, will be in Nigeria on Sunday, January 12, to complete his contract signing with the football federation.

The former Mali coach will be accompanied by three of his long-term assistants who will also work with him when he resumes the role as Nigeria’s head coach officially after signing the dotted lines, Daily Post NG reports.

Eric Chelle’s trusted assistants worked with him during his reign in charge of the Malian national team, which they took to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The trio, who will also arrive in Nigeria on Sunday to finalize their contracts, were also with the 49-year-old tactician during his brief spell with Algerian league club MC Oran.

Chelle will also work with two home-based coaches to be provided by the NFF to support the technical crew led by the former Mali manager.

What will be Chelle’s first assignment?

The new Super Eagles technical crew led by Eric Chelle will handle their first major assignment with the CHAN Eagles at the 2024 African Nations Championship.

Nigeria is making a comeback to the tournament after missing the last two editions and will be expected to make a significant impact and even go as far as winning the competition.

According to Wikipedia, the CHAN Eagles came third at the 2014 African Nations Championship, at the 2018 edition hosted in Morocco, Nigeria reached the final but lost 4–0 to the hosts.

NFF slammed for appointing Eric Chelle

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that former Gombe State FA chairman, Gara Gombe has expressed his displeasure by strongly criticising the NFF for choosing Chelle to lead the Super Eagles.

Gara Gombe underlined that the NFF seemed to be working hard to take Nigerian football backward with this decision.

He also questioned the former RC Lens defender's pedigree and achievements, as well as his coaching credentials, especially given the current status of the Super Eagles.