In the days leading to the for­mal announcement of former Malian defender and coach, Eric Chelle, as the manager of the Super Eagles, both the Ni­geria Football Federation (NFF) and the immediate past presi­dent of the football house, Am­aju Pinnick, were very confident that a very sound coach would be announced to take charge of the former African champions.

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On account of this, expecta­tions were high that perhaps for once, a tested European manager would be appointed, particularly as the national team is on the verge of back-to-back misses for a place at the World Cup, with the 2026 ticket hanging in the balance.

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Expectations were high giv­en that a team of Super Eagles caliber cannot go for anything less satisfying given the play­ers in the team and the huge expectations from Nigerians for a coach that could not only command the respect of Nige­rians but one that would also be influential in the national team’s locker room.

However, Nigerians could not have been more surprising following Tuesday’s announce­ment of Chelle to replace inter­im manager, Austin Eguaveon. While information scooped from insiders in the NFF on Tuesday was pointing to the choice of the Malian as the would-be substantive manag­er, such was written off as not possible but the announcement of the West African shook the country to its foundation.

According to veteran sports journalist and one-time me­dia officer of Enyimba, Solace Chukwu, the choice may not be bad but not after waiting all these while.

“I like Eric Chelle as a coach. His Mali played the best foot­ball at last year’s AFCON, for me. Again, though, an appoint­ment of this calibre could have been made six months ago.

“If you make fans wait this long, you’re conditioning them to expect something properly better than this,” he said.

Chelle was the top pick of the technical committee of the NFF from a three-man short­list, with the coach getting the backing of the NFF president, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, this time around after rejecting his appli­cation in July last year

While the shock has contin­ued, with his immediate task, according to NFF, being the qualification of the Super Ea­gles for the 2026 Mundial, an NFF source told SUNDAY IN­DEPENDENT that the choice of Chelle was informed by NFF’s desire to go for experience, affordability and tactical acu­men, traits the source said they found in the coach.

The source said Eric Chelle’s tenure with Mali offered the NFF a solid foundation for op­timism, explaining that “during his time as head coach of Mali, he managed an impressive re­cord, averaging 2.10 points per game over 21 matches.

“Under his leadership, Mali recorded 13 wins, five draws and only three losses, a statis­tic that highlights his ability to extract consistent results from his teams.”

Other reasons, it was gath­ered, was that his ability to devise strategies to outwit for­midable opponents is a trait the Super Eagles would hope to leverage in their quest for international glory.

This could be right as the 47-year-old is known for his preference for attacking foot­ball, often deploying a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2 formation that em­phasises high pressing, quick transitions and creative runs in behind as seen with the Eagles of Mali at the last Africa Cup of Nations.

Above all, the coach, SUN­DAY INDEPENDENT was told, is believed to be a financially more affordable option, al­lowing the NFF to balance its budget, while securing a coach with a proven track record.

This position is in tandem with analysts, who have ar­gued that money was the main reason the Glass House opted for the coach, given that other coaches the NFF had earlier approached like Hervé Renard and Tom Saintfiet were re­portedly seeking salaries dou­ble that of former manager, Jose Peseiro, a figure the NFF deemed unsustainable.

Meanwhile, as per a state­ment by the NFA, the Malian tactician will officially take charge of the team during the next international window.

Additionally, it is speculated that he will handle the Super Eagles B team during the up­coming African Nations Cham­pionship (CHAN), but his pri­mary task will be to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.

Despite whatever reasons NFF could have advanced in engaging the coach, some Nige­rian football and sports stake­holders have screamed against the choice of the Malian to handle the star-studded Super Eagles on account of his ex­perience and overall pedigree, which a lot of them noted are not measurably better than what Indigenous coaches in Nigeria could offer.

One of such voices against this choice is from Alhaji Mo­hammed Gara Gombe, the former Gombe State FA chair­man, who dismissed Chelle as a kindergarten coach, one that shouldn’t have a place in the bench of the former African champions.

Despite that Chelle, 47, is a former Mali international with five caps and has coached clubs like GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran, Gombe believed the NFF has made a significant error.

Speaking to Brila FM, Gombe questioned Chelle’s creden­tials and lack of prominence, stating, “Who is Chelle? Who knows him? What was his an­tecedent? Nothing.

“For goodness sake, all this waiting since AFCON in Ivory Coast, we cannot get a coach. And we ended up now, after all these years, appointing a kindergarten coach to manage the world-class players that we have. It is really unfortunate.”

Gombe’s harsh assessment reflects a sentiment that Chelle lacks the experience and pro­file necessary to manage a team with the stature and talent of the Super Eagles.

Another bashing to the NFF came from former Super Eagles star, Coach Taiwo Oluyede, who said, (while expressing his view in pidgin English), it was like the Glass House is confused

Expressing his anger, Oloyede said, “E be like say I go leave dis coaching job go join another job. How can a Malian come dey coach our national team? This NFF don’t know what they are doing.”

His comments also reflected the frustration of many local coaches and football stake­holders, who feel the NFF had consistently overlooked home­grown talent for key coaching positions.

He continued, “We have ca­pable hands here in Nigeria. Why not give one of us the chance to handle the team?”

On his own, Samuel Elijah, former international, also voiced strong criticism of the NFF over the decision to ap­point Chelle.

He expressed his dissatis­faction with the NFF’s deci­sion, condemning the hiring of Chelle and highlighting the value of homegrown coaching talent.

“I don’t think this is the right appointment. We have a local coach (Austin Eguavoen) who has done well in our past matches,” Elijah said.

“He came and he redeemed the team. Now, they have been canvassing for a foreign coach all this while.

“I don’t know what the NFF is looking for, for me bringing Eric Chelle to take over the national team is a slap on our football.”

Elijah further questioned the credentials of Chelle, com­paring his career to that of Eguavoen, and argued that the former was not a suitable fit for the Super Eagles.

“Who is Eric Chelle com­pared to Austin Eguavoen, in any way? Look at the playing career, look at the two of them playing for their various na­tional teams.

“How many caps does he have, what was his achieve­ment the last time he took the national team to Côte d’Ivoire, he couldn’t get to the final,” Eli­jah added.

Also, the umbrella body of all Nigerian students, the Na­tional Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), described the appointment as an aberration.

In a press statement ion Wednesday, NANS said there are

experiences managers that should have been handed the task instead of Chelle, saying the development is a slap on Nigerians.

“We at NANS condemn this appointment as it falls short of standards our nation is known for, especially in the round leather game,” the statement read.

“Rather than giving Nigeria a half-baked or run-of-the-mill coach, the NFF can do better by appointing a Nigerian into the position of the coach of the Super Eagles.

“We seriously doubt if Chelle can secure a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, a ma­jor mandate given to him by the NFF.

“We call on the football fed­eration to reconsider this ap­pointment and give the coun­try a Super Eagles coach that will rekindle the country’s glory in the game of soccer, both in Africa and at the glob­al stage.”

However, some Nigerian sports stakeholders have called for support for the Malian in his task as the Super Eagles coach

One of such stakeholders is former international, Felix Owolabi, who called on Nigeri­ans to show belief and trust in the coach.

“Everything is about belief and confidence. If you give him confidence, he will give you his best,” Owolabi said.

On his own, Chris Green, for­mer chairman of the NFF Tech­nical Committee, emphasised creating the right environment for success.

“Since the NFF has an­nounced him, I hope they’ve also arranged the environment he will work in so that he can thrive and qualify us for the next World Cup.”

Speaking similarly, Waidi Akanni, a former Nigerian in­ternational and ex-chairman of the Lagos State Football Associ­ation, urged Nigerians to rally behind Chelle.

“My opinion is we should support the coach, encourage him to do well, and let’s see what happens. Football is a game, and you never know.”

Also, Switzerland-based Ni­gerian coach, Adeyemi Adedeji, called for support, saying the Malian has what it takes to suc­ceed in Nigeria.

Reflecting on Chelle’s achievements, he said, “Con­gratulations to Coach Éric Sék­ou Chelle.

“A sound technical and tacti­cal coach that plays Naija wey! We saw him win against South Africa during AFCON and nar­rowly lost to Côte d’Ivoire in the quarter-finals.

“He also defeated the Super Eagles 2-0 with his Malian team during an international break.”

Also calling for support for the coach, former winger, Mu­tiu Adepoju, while speaking on Brila FM, appealed to Nige­rians and the players to rally round Chelle so that he can be successful.

“I think the best thing we can do at the moment is for the Su­per Eagles to support the new coach, Eric Chelle, and hope all works out well”

“Nevertheless, I think the NFF has taken a decision, thinking that it’s the right de­cision.”

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