After another long suspense, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Tuesday, January 7, announced the appointment of Eric Sekou Chelle, as the substantive coach of the senior national team, the Super Eagles. The former African champions have been without a manager since Finidi George threw in the towel in June last year after his short but calamitous reign left Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup hanging in the balance.
As expected, the appointment of the former Malian coach to lead the Super Eagles has elicited mixed reactions, with most Nigerian football fans expressing their disappointment. Considering the painful fact that Nigeria is sitting precariously in second position at the bottom of Group C with only three points from four matches, many had thought that a more renowned gaffer with a proven technical acumen would be appointed to come and salvage what is left of the team’s chances. However, it is Chelle whose best record as a coach is a quarter-final berth with the national team of Mali at the 2023 AFCON that the NFF has saddled with the daunting task.
Already, the ever critical Nigerian football stakeholders have condemned the choice of the former Malian defender, as many have since tagged him “a baby or Kindergarten coach” who lacks the requisite knowledge and experience to save the Super Eagles from another World Cup failure.
Well, even if some Nigerians do not know anything about the coach, those of us who followed closely the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire where Nigeria finished as runners up know Chelle as the coach who narrowly survived a heart attack after his team suffered a shocking defeat in the quarter-final match against the host country. It will be recalled that the gaffer suffered a malaise when the Elephants scored in added time of extra time to send Mali packing from the tournament. In a flurry of activities, his boys missed a penalty, gained numerical advantage, then had the lead but conceded an equaliser in the 90th minute and then conceded again in the final period of extra-time added minutes to lose the tie 1-2. At that moment, the thoroughly traumatised coach couldn’t withstand the shock, and if not for the timely intervention of one of his backroom staff who rushed to ‘revive’ him with chilled water, another sporting disaster would have happened.
Despite his close shave with death in the course of service to his fatherland, the Franco-Malian coach was eventually sacked after Les Aigles were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Madagascar in the 2026 World Qualifiers. So, when the position of the Super Eagles became vacant, he was one of the coaches who applied. Although he didn’t get the job at the first time of asking, he eventually made it when the NFF became desperate to fill the vacancy. Recall that the position was temporarily occupied by the ‘vacuum doctor’ Austin Eguavoen when NFF’s preferred choice Bruno Labbadia suddenly withdrew from his deal with the football federation.
So, barring last-minute hitches, Chelle, who was in charge when Mali defeated the Super Eagles 2-0 in an international friendly, will be unveiled on Sunday in Abuja. Asides the relentless scepticism over his ability to manage the team, some are stillwonder what has given him the confidence and audacity to accept such a difficult assignment. Everyone knows Nigeria needs someone with a magic wand to qualify the country for the 2026 World Cup. Surprisingly, the man whose profile as a coach is not in tandem with his imposing physique is the one who has stepped forward to say “here I am, send me, send me.” And indeed, he has been sent by the NFF to lead the Super Eagles in the remaining 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Most Nigerians are not happy with the appointment of Chelle because they don’t see him as the messiah. They had clamoured for a world class coach but ended up with a fellow African who is far below the standard of Eguavoen who qualified Nigeria for the 2025 AFCON, yet failed to win their confidence. In any case, those who are upset that the NFF has once again settled for another “low-budget manager” should know that not many good coaches are ready to risk their hard earned reputation by taking up any appointment with failure written all over it. Probably, the NFF was left with limited options to choose from.
Therefore, I call on those who are against the appointment of the coach to give him a chance. Moreover, Nigeria’s World Cup fate is not in one man’s hands. As things stand presently, no coach has the capacity to win the World Cup ticket for Nigeria. Although we are a prayerful nation, I want to advise that instead of hinging our hopes on God or a coach, we should ask the Super Eagles players to do what is expected of them. They are the only people who can qualify Nigeria for the World Cup. They must bring their ‘A’ game into the remaining matches, beginning with the match against the Wasps of Rwanda in March. They are the ones who will either make or mar Nigeria’s World Cup chances.
It is on this note that I urge Nigerians to dwell less on the pedigree of Chelle. Instead, the energy that football stakeholders expend criticising the appointment of the new coach should be channelled into telling the players to wake up from slumber. They must be made to understand the magnitude of the assignment before them. After all, they brought the pressure upon themselves and must bear it. Anything short of victories in their remaining matches will see the country’s World Cup hopes evaporate into thin air.
Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, Leon Balogun, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Fiyaso Dele-Bashiru, and the rest of the players should know that they need the ticket more than other Nigerians. If they are in doubt, they should remember the story of ‘Chairman Christian Chukwu, Chief Segun Odegbami, George Opone Weah and Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew whose only regret is that despite their illustrious football careers, they failed to play on the world’s biggest stage.
Update: In 2025, Nigerians have been approved to earn US Dollars as salary while living in Nigeria.
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