Aghahowa Names Only Thing NFF Got Wrong with Eric Chelle’s Hiring

• The Nigerian Football Federation appointed former Malian international Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles coach
• Nigerians have not taken kindly to the appointment and have voiced their displeasure towards it on social media
• Former Nigerian international Julius Aghahowa has named the only thing the NFF got wrong with the appointment

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Amidst the outrage from Nigerians over the appointment of Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles head coach, a former international has named the only thing the federation got wrong.

The Super Eagles have been without a permanent manager since indigenous head coach Finidi George resigned from the position in June 2024, and Eguavoen led the team temporarily.

The Nigerian Football Federation announced the appointment of Malian coach Chelle as the new head coach of the senior national team on social media on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

Nothing would have prepared the NFF for the reaction they are getting from Nigerians, the majority of whom are against hiring him for different reasons.

Aghahowa speaks on Chelle's appointment

As Nigerians continue to rage against Chelle's appointment, ex-international Julius Aghahowa has named the only thing the NFF got wrong in the process.

“This is a fire brigade approach. He should have been appointed when there was time to build long-term. But these are very critical times,” Aghahowa told Brila FM.

“Hopefully, he’ll bring in a different kind of mentality. We don’t have a talent problem. I would like to see how he impacts the team’s work rate and mentality.”

“Our problem has always been the mentality of players coming from the clubs to represent Nigeria,” he concluded.

Chelle is saddled with the responsibility of qualifying Nigeria for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico despite a poor start to the qualifying campaign.

Nigeria have three points from four games having drawn against Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa and lost to Benin Republic, a match which led to Finidi George’s resignation.

Chelle left Mali in a closely similar spot, with five points from four games. They are fourth in Group I of the qualifiers behind Comoros, Ghana, and Madagascar.

A Nigerian football writer, who asked not to be named, sided with Aghahowa’s sentiments and subtly accused Nigerians of not being realistic.

“Aghahowa raised a valid point, which most Nigerians have failed to come to terms with. The timing is wrong, and the expectation that we need a magician because of our position on the qualifiers table,” he told Legit.ng.

“The 2026 World Cup ticket is not in our hands, if Chelle guides us to it, he has done a great job, otherwise he cannot be blamed if we fail to qualify for it.”

Moses Simon welcomes Eric Chelle

Legit.ng reported that Moses Simon became the first player to welcome Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles boss after reacting to the news of his appointment on social media.

Simon quoted the Super Eagles' official post and reacted in French, Chelle's first language, amidst claims that the manager’s English is not yet very strong.