Coach Sacked Two Times for Poor Performances, Appointed as New Super Eagles Technician
Eric Chelle, a former Malian Football Coach has been appointed as the the new head coach of the Nigerian Super Eagles, replacing the embattled Austin Eguavoen.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed Chelle’s appointment on Tuesday following the recommendation of the NFF’s Technical and Development Sub-Committee during its meeting on January 2, 2025, in Abuja.
Unknown to NFF, Chelle had been sacked two times as a head coach for poor performances, undermining his possible performance to lead Nigeria’s National team.
Notably, the two times Chelle was dismissed were among the only credible times he functioned as a coach.
Chelle, who was first appointed as the head coach of US Boulogne in May 2021, was dismissed by Boulogne on 11 December 2021—eight months after the club performed poorly, gaining three points in the preceding ten games.
In the press release announcing his dismissal, which is now deleted but retrieved by PIJAlance, Boulogne wrote: “Our club, US BOULOGNE CO and its flagship team coach Éric CHELLE, have decided to end their collaboration.
“Despite a strong commitment and a strong desire to succeed, the current results force us to decide to release our technician, who arrived in the summer of 2021, from his duties. We wish him the best for the rest of his career.”
However, after this blow, the 47-year-old coach was again appointed as the head coach of Mali’s senior national team.
After leading the Mali team to an unexpected goalless draw against the 10-man Madagascar team in a Group I World Cup qualifier in Johannesburg, Chelle was again sacked.
Though the Mali Team did not give enough reasons linking to the previous goalless match, Super Sports reported that the dismissal action was, in hindsight, a decision made days after Mali were held to a goalless draw.
“The executive committee of the Malian Football Federation, meeting in extraordinary session today unanimously decided, with the agreement of the supervisory authority, to end the collaboration between the coach of the National Team Senior, Mr. Eric Sekou Chelle and the federation,” the statement said.
Chelle, during his playing career, represented Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres, and Chamois Niortais. He is expected to start leading the Super Eagles. However, netizens have also criticized the decision of the NFF, saying Eguavoen could have been maintained.
Eguavoen was put in charge of the Super Eagles after Finidi George resigned from the role following a series of disappointing results in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including a draw against South Africa and a loss to the Benin Republic.
Chelle’s appointment takes effect immediately and he will be tasked with qualifying Nigeria for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
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