National Teams
NFF appoints former Mali coach for Super Eagles

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has endorsed the appointment of Éric Chelle as the head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team.
The appointment was confirmed after endorsement from the NFF Technical and Development sub-committee.
The recommendation for the appointment of the former head coach of Mali senior men’s national team was made during the meeting of NFF Technical and Development sub-committee in Abuja on Thursday, January 2 2025.
The recommendation was endorsed on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
Chelle has been in charge of clubs likes GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran apart from the Malian men’s national team.
Mali bowed out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the quarter final to host and eventually Champions, Cote D’Ivoire 2-1 after extra time under the guidance of Chelle.
The immediate responsibility of Chelle is to guide the Super Eagles to 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
The three time African champions occupy the fifth position in their World Cup qualification group with three points from four games.
Matchday five and six of the qualifiers is scheduled for March 2025.