NFF appoints Mali’s Éric Chelle as new Super Eagles head coach
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced the appointment of Mali’s Éric Chelle as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, ending months of wait for a permanent boss for the national team.
“The executive committee of the NFF 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 senior men’s national football team, Super Eagles,” the NFF said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles have been without a known head coach since former manager Jose Peseiro was sacked following the conclusion of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast early last year.
Ex-Nigerian international Augustine Eguavoen served as the team’s interim head coach through the first stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and oversaw Nigeria’s qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations last year.
“At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd January 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had recommended the appointment of former coach of the senior men 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,” the NFF added.
Chelle’s immediate task would be to ensure Nigeria qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which is definitely an almost impossible job, given that the Eagles currently sit fifth on the Group C qualifying table and must win all their remaining matches in the qualifiers to have any hope of participating in the tournament.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Rights
UTME: JAMB’s AI plan could exclude visually impaired candidates, CITAB warns
Mr Fenemigho, however, warned that without deliberate preparations, the initiative could remain an ambitious idea rather than a project.
Sport
FIFA, Adidas unveil 2026 World Cup final match ball
The match ball is inspired by the FIFA World Cup trophy, featuring a striking white, black, and gold design.
Heading 4
Tinubu orders probe of X, Meta over alleged exploitation of news content
Mr Ijagwu said that under the new investigation, areas of interest include allegations of market dominance and potential anti-competitive conduct.
Heading 1
Tinubu hails Nigerian Army’s role in national, regional security
Mr Tinubu said the army’s contributions have safeguarded Nigeria’s sovereignty while strengthening peace and stability across Africa and beyond.
Education
Security agencies working to rescue abducted pupils, teachers, Oyo govt tells families
The state government said in a statement on Monday that it remained fully committed to ensuring the victims’ safe return to their families.
Sport
2026 World Cup: ‘You’ve been trying to kill me for 23 years,’ Ronaldo tells journalists
Ronaldo condemned some journalists who have taken pleasure in casting a harsh spotlight on him, saying it had been the same since he was 18 years old.
