The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially announced the appointment of Éric Sékou Chelle as the Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles. This decision follows the endorsement of the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee’s recommendation by the NFF Executive Committee on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
The appointment was initially proposed during a meeting of the Technical and Development Sub-Committee held in Abuja on January 2, 2025. Chelle, a former head coach of Mali’s senior men’s national team, is set to take charge immediately.
Chelle earned five caps for Mali’s national team, the Aiglons, and has an extensive coaching background with clubs including GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran. Since 2022, he has served as Head Coach of Mali, where he led the team to an impressive showing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire. Under his leadership, Mali narrowly lost 2-1 to the hosts and eventual champions Côte d’Ivoire after extra time in the quarterfinals.
During his playing career, the 47-year-old Chelle competed in France, featuring for clubs such as Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres, and Chamois Niortais.
Now at the helm of the Super Eagles, Chelle’s immediate focus will be on guiding Nigeria to secure a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The next set of qualifying matches, Matchdays 5 and 6, are scheduled for March, marking the start of a challenging but exciting chapter for both Chelle and the Super Eagles.
