Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to retain Eric Chelle as the team’s head coach after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is concluded.

The Besiktas midfielder made this appeal during the pre-match press conference ahead of the third-place match between Nigeria and Egypt at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Saturday.

“For continuity, I feel like they should keep the coach because he is a wonderful manager,” said Ndidi. “I will tell you that for free: we should make this team a continuity, so we should focus because there are so many competitions and games ahead.”

He added, “We should focus on the team right now because this is the set of players I am proud of.”

Ahead of the tournament, Chelle dismissed talk of the future when asked whether staying with the Super Eagles depends on the team reaching the AFCON final in Morocco. But he admitted that he would speak to the NFF about it after the tournament.

However, calls for Chelle to remain as the Super Eagles’ gaffer have grown significantly following the quality of football Nigeria has played in Morocco, which many fans believe is the best performance in decades.

Speaking further, Ndidi also commended the 48-year-old for being one of the individuals who have made his job as the team’s captain easy while describing being the leader of the Eagles ‘amazing.’

“Being a captain of Nigeria is amazing, especially with the help of the coach and the leaders in the team.

“The experience for not only me as a captain has come down to the coach. When we talk about the future, I will say this is one to be proud of,” the player stated.