12 hours Ago By Guardian Nigeria
• We have capable hands in Nigeria, says Oloyede • NFF has taken our football backward – Gombe • He is a world-class tactician – Anthony The decision by the Board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appoint ex-Malian player, Eric Sekou Chelle, as new head coach of the Super Eagles, has divided stakeholders nationwide. The NFF settled for the 47-year-old Chelle for the Eagles’ job on Tuesday based on a recommendation from its Technical and Development Sub-Committee. Chelle’s coaching experience with clubs like GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran notwithstanding, some stakeholders felt the NFF took its gamble too far.
Former Nigerian international and ex-Stationary Stores player, Coach Taiwo Oloyede, questioned NFF’s decision to bring in a foreign coach instead of promoting local expertise. Oloyede’s outburst adds to the growing debate over the NFF’s long-term strategy for the Super Eagles. “It’s like I will quit coaching and join another job,” Oloyede said.
“How can a Malian come and coach our senior national team? It is clear that this NFF don’t know what they are doing.” According to Oloyede, the NFF has added to the frustration of many local coaches and football stakeholders. “We have capable hands here in Nigeria.
Why not give one of us the chance to handle the team? The NFF has consistently overlooked homegrown talent for key coaching positions and it is not good for our football.” The appointment of Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles coach also drew sharp criticism from former chairman of the Gombe Football Association, Gara Gombe. He labelled Chelle a ‘baby’ and ‘kindergarten’ coach, just as he expressed strong disapproval of the NFF’s decision.
Speaking with Brila FM yesterday, Gara Gombe argued that the NFF has taken Nigerian football ‘backward’ with Chelle’s appointment. He questioned Chelle’s credentials saying: “Who is Chelle? Who knows him? What was his antecedent? I will say nothing. For goodness sake, all this waiting since AFCON in Ivory Coast, we cannot get a sound coach.
And we ended up now, after all these years, appointing a ‘kindergarten’ coach to manage the world-class players that we have. It is really unfortunate.” While the duo of Oloyede and Gara Gombe are crying wolf over Chelle’s appointment, a Nigerian football manager based in Switzerland, coach Adeyemi Adedeji Anthony, has expressed his support and excitement over it.
Anthony described Chelle as a “world-class tactical gaffer’ with sound technical and tactical acumen. “Congratulations to Coach Éric Sékou Chelle,” Anthony said. “A sound technical and tactical coach that plays Naija wey! We saw him win against South Africa during AFCON and narrowly lose to Cote d’Ivoire in the quarter-finals.
He also defeated the Super Eagles 2-0 with his Malian team during an international break.” Anthony also highlighted Chelle’s recent success with an Algerian club side, commending his ability to deliver results in different competitive environments. “He is a world-class tactical gaffer.
Good luck, Coach Éric! I pray you succeed here in my mother’s land and take us to the World Cup,” he added. In what looked like a reversal of precedents, the Malian is coaching the Nigerian team just as former Nigeria captain, the late Stephen Keshi, had coached Mali some years ago. Chelle’s first challenge is to lead the Super Eagles to victory in the March World Cup qualifiers, where they currently sit in a fifth position in Group C, having only three points from four matches and trailing Rwanda, South Africa, and Benin, each have seven points.
The Super Eagles resume their World Cup qualifying campaign on March 17 with a clash against table topper Rwanda in Kagali before hosting Zimbabwe. The top side in each of the nine groups advance automatically to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico, while the four best runners-up enter continental play-offs with the potential for one extra place. Chelle is expected to lead the Super Eagles Team B to the fast approaching CHAN tournament, but some Nigerians are of the opinion that even if he wins the trophy in February, should not be given the full credit for the feat since the trio of coach Daniel Ogunmodede, Fidelis Ilechulwu and Olatunji Baruwa had already laid the technical foundation in the team.
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