By Victor Akan
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach of the country’s senior men national football team, the Super Eagles.
Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, disclosed in a statement that the Federation’s Executive Committee endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for Chelle’s appointment.
“At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had recommended the appointment of the former Coach of the senior men national team of Mali as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
“This recommendation was on Tuesday endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee,” he said.
Chelle, who won five caps for the Aiglons of Mali and coached clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne and MC Oran, has been Head Coach of the Aiglons since 2022.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Côte d’Ivoire in February 2024, Mali came very close to the semi-finals.
They lost 2-1 after extra time to hosts and eventual winners Côte d’Ivoire, who also beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final.
This was after they had led by a lone goal until the final minute of regulation time.
The 47-year-old Chelle featured for Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres and Chamois Niortais in France during his playing career.
Olajire added that Chelle’s appointment was with immediate effect, as he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
NAN reports that the next round of matches —- Match Days 5 and 6 —— are in March, with Nigeria needing wins to return to contention for a qualification ticket.
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