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Olugbemi. Adeyinka Ogunleye
1 week ago
Overview
Eric Chelle: What you should know about new Super Eagles head coach
- Eric Chelle has been named as Nigeria's new coach
- The 47-year-old will take charge of his first games in March
- Super Eagles have had difficult start to World Cup qualifying campaign
Nigeria have appointed former Mali boss Eric Chelle as their new national team coach. The Super Eagles were most recently coached by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical director Augustine Eguavoen, who led the team on an interim basis.
The NFF stated Chelle, 47, “has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to a ticket” to the FIFA World Cup 26™.
Nigeria have work to do if they are to reach the tournament. In their opening four matches in Group C of CAF qualifying, they have drawn three and lost one. They will resume their campaign in March, when they face Rwanda away and Zimbabwe at home.
Born in Côte d'Ivoire, former defender Chelle went on to represent Mali, winning five caps. He spent his club career in France, where he turned out for the likes of Valenciennes, Lens and Istres.
After hanging up his boots, Chelle moved into coaching. His most high-profile role to date was with the Mali national team. Chelle, who led the side for two years from 2022 to 2024, oversaw their run to the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, where they were edged out by eventual champions Côte d'Ivoire after extra time.
Credit: Fifa
