The Nigeria Football Federation has not held any discussions regarding either the extension or termination of Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle’s contract following the team’s third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria finished third at the tournament, going unbeaten in seven matches and losing only the semi-final to hosts Morocco on penalties. The team also scored 14 goals at the AFCON, the highest tally in Nigeria’s history at the competition.
Chelle landed the Super Eagles job in January 2025, on a two-year-deal.
Owing to the circumstances that forced the NFF to search for a fourth handler within the space of 10 months, confidence in Chelle’s ability to succeed was limited, especially with Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes already fading.
However, one year on, the Franco-Malian coach is now enjoying widespread backing to remain in charge of the Super Eagles, following what was considered a largely impressive — if not entirely successful — 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco.
Perhaps Chelle’s most challenging assignment was the World Cup qualifying campaign, which ended on a disappointing note as Nigeria failed to secure an intercontinental play-off spot, despite recording four wins in six matches and reaching the African play-offs.
While the campaign had already been compromised under his predecessors, Chelle was in charge during the decisive defeat to DR Congo in November 2025. That result, along with setbacks such as the AFCON semi-final loss to Morocco, may explain why some Nigerians still harbour doubts about his suitability for the role.
Nonetheless, Chelle continues to enjoy the backing of the NFF and his players, even as he attracts interest from other African nations including Tunisia, Guinea, Angola and his former employers, Mali.
“The team is close to running on autopilot and will definitely achieve a lot of success under the present technical crew,” NFF president Ibrahim Gusau said after the AFCON, speaking via the federation’s media channel.
“The NFF is proud of the team’s performance and will continue to do its best to encourage, support and motivate the team as we go forward.
“As the head of a hard-working technical crew, Mr Chelle has done exceedingly well within the one year he has been with us. He has shown enormous capacity, and we will continue to work with him.”
Super Eagles captain, Wilfred Ndidi also threw his weight behind the coach, who has publicly expressed his desire to remain in charge of the team.
“For continuity, I feel they should keep the coach because he is a wonderful manager. The only thing we need in this team is continuity,” Ndidi said before Nigeria’s AFCON third-place match.
“We should not change things now because we did not make it to the final. We should remain focused because there are so many competitions ahead.”
In the first spell of his contract, Chelle managed 15 competitive matches with the Super Eagles, winning 10 and drawing five.
A top source at the NFF also told PUNCH Sports Extra that there are currently no discussions regarding Chelle’s future, as he is in the second year of his two-year contract.
It remains to be seen whether the coach will be offered a renewal at the end of the year.
In 2026, the Super Eagles will compete in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers and other international engagements, but they will miss out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico — a tournament that would have provided a stronger benchmark for reassessing the coach’s performance.
Credit: punchng.com
