Nigeria Secures Former Mali Boss ChelIe as New National Team Coach

Chelle gained attention after leading the Eagles of Mali to their first win against the Super Eagles in 50 years in a friendly last March.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, Cameroon – The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Mali coach Eric Chelle as its new head coach. The Super Eagles are looking to secure qualification for the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup. The NFF has not disclosed the length of Chelle's contract.

Chelle gained attention after leading Mali to their first win against the Super Eagles in 50 years in a friendly last March. He takes over from Augustine Eguavoen, who had been in interim charge of the Super Eagles. During his time at the helm, Equavoen qualified Nigeria for the 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON.

Eric Chelle, a former Mali international took the West African side to the quarterfinal of the 2023 AFCON, losing to Ivory Coast – the host subsequently won the tournament. Despite that fine run, Chelle eventually lost his job last June, after over two years in charge.

Eric Chelle is the first non-Nigerian African to assume the role of Super Eagles coach, and his appointment has stirred mixed reactions among supporters. Some fans argue that the reins could have remained with a Nigerian coach, especially considering Augustine Eguavoen's success in securing qualification for the 2025 Afcon in Morocco, BBC Sports Africa reported.

However, the underwhelming results before that under Finidi George may have influenced the NFF's decision to seek an alternative.
A Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) statement said: "The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Eric Sékou Chelle as head coach of the Nigeria senior men's national football team, the Super Eagles," a statement released by the NFF.

"His appointment takes effect immediately, and he will be responsible for guiding the Super Eagles toward qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup."

The three-time Africa Cup of Nations champions have made a winless start in World Cup qualifying, drawing three of their first four games in Group C.

The Super Eagles are four points behind group leaders Rwanda and will travel to Kigali to face the Wasps before hosting bottom side Zimbabwe in the next round of matches in March. Only the group winners are assured of a place in the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Chelle gained attention after leading Mali to their first win against the Super Eagles in 50 years in a friendly last March. With Nigeria's 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign off to a poor start, Eric Chelle will immediately need to wiggle the magic wand to win over a passionate Super Eagles fanbase when preliminaries for the 2026 World Cup resume in March.