NFF breaks silence on Eric Chelle’s future as Super Eagles coach

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau has confirmed that Eric Chelle will remain the Super Eagles head coach, despite ongoing speculation regarding a potential exit, Soccernet.ng reports.

​Chelle's future has been hanging in the balance since the conclusion of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations last month.

While he led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish, many observers believed Nigeria was the best team in the tournament.

​The Super Eagles were the highest-scoring side in the competition, netting 14 goals in six matches.

The team played an exciting brand of football and created numerous chances, appearing largely unlucky to finish third.

​Since the end of AFCON 2025, Chelle has been linked with the Algerian and Tunisian national team jobs, with rumors suggesting he could lead either side to the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations later this year.

​However, no concrete moves have emerged from the speculation. Now, the president of the NFF—Nigeria's highest football governing body—has confirmed that Chelle will stay with the Super Eagles to see out his contract.

What Ibrahim Gusau Said About Eric Chelle

In a recent interview, the NFF President Ibrahim Gusau noted that Chelle still has a year left on his contract and is not obliged to leave until his contract expires.

​“We still have a one-year contract with Eric and therefore whatever anyone will show on him, he has to wait until his contract expired. And basically, you know, we don't want to bring some distraction on him because we quite well understand that he enjoys working with Nigeria. Because it's not about a team is interested in you,” Gusau said.

​”it’s not about because he has gotten the results with the Super Eagles. So, if he goes to the other team, despite the fact that they are going to give him more money, is he going to get the results?

Gusau also noted that Chelle loves the Nigeria job because of the quality of players he has.

 

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“The issue there is, do they have the materials for him to work with to achieve what he wants to achieve? The dream of every single coach is to make sure that he achieves success, especially on higher tournaments.

“​So, when you are saying that I want the coach, we are going to look for the coach to come and we are going to pay him so and so amount of money.

“It’s not the issue of the money. But will he achieve what he wants to achieve in his career? Or is he just going there for the money?

“The key thing is that I know Coach Eric believes in the Super Eagles and he believes that he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve in his career when it comes to a coaching profession, especially with the national team within the African continent.

“​So, he has so much belief in the Super Eagles and he has every confidence that he can achieve all his dreams with the Super Eagles.

“So, that’s the key thing that I believe in and I know we discussed it several times with him. And to us, as I have said, we believe in him. When the time comes, we definitely make Nigerians know the way forward. But Eric is part of the Super Eagles and he continues to be part of the Super Eagles.

With Gusau declaration, it is cleared that Eric Chelle will definitely be around for a while. If he continues to impress as shine, he will definitely get a contract extension.