Nigerian football enthusiasts have expressed concerns over the choice of Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles coach by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The NFF on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, announced the appointment of former Mali coach Éric Sékou Chelle as the new coach of the Super Eagles.

“The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles,” the NFF said in a statement.

Football enthusiasts have shared their opinions on the new appointment.

Friday Erhabor, a Nigerian football enthusiast, described the choice of the former Malian coach as laughable.

“It is to say the least laughable. If they cannot get a good foreign coach, why don’t they give the job to the likes of Eguavoen, Siasia, or Amunike.

“Eric Chelle is not better than Amunike. NFF can be very funny at times. They toy with Nigerian football, and it is annoying,” he said.

Philip Adefioye, sports analyst frowned at the appointment of Chelle, describing it as a slap on Nigerian coaches and the entire country.

“I don’t think it’s an ideal step taken by the NFF in their quest to move Nigeria’s football forward. By this, they have made Nigeria a place where anybody can come and make a name, and go. We saw how Jose Pesero came, upscale his coaching CV, and left,” he said.

Adefioye reiterated that the NFF must have ulterior agenda for engaging Chelle, without consulting stakeholders.

“Who did the NFF consult before appointing him, this is a slap on the face of Nigerian coaches. Many Nigerian coaches are doing tremendously great even outside the shores of the country.

“I think the NFF wants to use the new coach as an avenue for money laundry. He is not the best hand to handle the Super Eagles,” he said.

The veteran sports commentator called on the NFF to stop their unprofessional approach to managing the country’s football affairs.

“The NFF should let Nigerians know who they want to employ per a time and allow stakeholders to make their contributions before deciding on whom to appoint. Well, since they have appointed Chelle, I wish him the best!” he said.

Similarly, John Akrasi decried the NFF’s choice of Chelle to lead the country’s senior men’s national football.

“Announcing Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles coach is not an ideal move to getting a foreign coach for the team. Looking at his pedigree, haven spent most of his coaching career in the lower division of French football.

Besides, Akrasi believes Chelle’s credentials do not qualify him for such a high-profile job of coaching the men’s national football team of the most talented and populated African country.

“He has been involved in a total of 148 games throughout his career and has only won 67 (45 percent). This is not a good performance going by the quality of the national team manager the country needs; these statistics are below par for the coach we want. Take note that he has drawn 40 and lost 41 out of all these 148 games,” he pointed out.

Onyebuchi Abia, a veteran sports analyst said the NFF is just ding-a-ling and not straightforward with their actions.

“I think they should have continued with Austin Eguavoen or Finidi George, instead of hiring such a coach. Let us once and for all have an Indigenous coach, not when an Indigenous fails once, you sack him.

“This has a way of making the national team unstable; I hope the NFF chairman knows what he is doing,” he queried.

The NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had on Thursday, January 2, 2025, in a meeting at Abuja recommended the appointment of Eric Chelle, as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.

His appointment makes him the first non-Nigerian African to be appointed as head coach of the Super Eagles.

Éric Chelle is a professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. He was born in Ivory Coast to a French father and a Malian mother, he made five appearances for the Mali national team.

Chelle transitioned to management after retiring from football, starting his coaching career in France’s lower leagues.

In May 2021, he was appointed head coach of US Boulogne but was dismissed in December 2021 after a poor run of results.

In 2022, he took over as head coach of the Mali national team, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast. Mali narrowly lost to the hosts in extra time.