The Nigerian Football Federation has officially announced their new head coach for the men's national team.
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The three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners have confirmed that Eric Chelle will be the man to lead them for the foreseeable future. This is according to an official statement released by the Nigerian football governing body, as the Malian becomes the first African, who is not Nigerian, to hold the position of head coach.
In 2024, the position of Super Eagles head coach was in constant flux. The West African giants began the year with José Peseiro in charge, but after the Portuguese coach was defeated in the final of the 2023 AFCON, he decided against renewing his contract.
The NFF then appointed former Al Ahly manager Finidi George to replace him. However, George's tenure was short-lived after he failed to secure victories against Benin and South Africa during the last set of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Another former Nigeria international, Augustine Eguavoen, subsequently took over the reins for the fourth time after the federation's proposed appointment of German Bruno Labbadia fell through at the last moment.
Eguavoen successfully qualified for the next AFCON in Morocco but has now returned to his position as technical director, with Chelle taking over as the permanent manager. It is unclear how long his contract with the national team is, but the NFF released a statement mandating the former Mali boss to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
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On their official X (formerly known as Twitter) page, they said: "His appointment is with immediate effect, and he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, with the next round of matches (Matchdays 5 6) taking place in March."
