Éric Sékou Chelle:  Doomed Before Kickstarting?

The Nigeria Football fraternity was taken aback after the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on Tuesday issued a statement that the federation has appointed Malian, Éric Sékou Chelle, as the new Super Eagles manager, making him the first foreign African coach to manage the senior football team of the country. The question on the lips of most observers is, are the Emmanuel Amunikes, Samson Siasias, Austin Eguavoens, amongst many other household name coaches in the country, less qualified than the Malian. The appointment of the erstwhile Les Aiglons coach might be retrogressive and unpopular even among players writes Kunle Adewale

After seven months of waiting since Finidi George resigned as the national senior men’s football team, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on Tuesday issued a statement that the Executive Committee of the federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Éric Sékou Chelle as the Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles.

The appointment of the Malian has since generated a lot of criticism from football fans, pundits and ex-internationals, who see the appointment of Chelle as a slap on Nigerian football.

In a chat with THISDAY, former Nigeria international, Tajudeen Disu, described the appointment of the former Les Aiglons coach as one of the darkest days in Nigeria’s football.

“We have just taken 10 steps backward in our football. It is a shame to Nigerian football that we now have to turn to Mali to hire a coach for the Super Eagles. Are we saying that we don’t have better coaches in Nigeria than Chelle. Fine, we say we don’t want European coaches again for our senior national team, but should we turn to Mali for goodness’ sake,” Disu lamented.

As far as the defunct Abiola Babes FC of Abeokuta captain is concern, from the administration of former NFF President, Amaju Pinnick to the present president, Ibrahim Gusau, none of them is interested in the country’s football development but rather what they will gain.

“The NFF is more concern about what it would gain than developing the country’s football. It has been like that since the tenure of (Amaju) Pinnick, and (Ibrahim) Gusau is toeing the same line. How would any reasonable person believe that Chelle has better coaching pedigree than Emmanuel Amunike or Samson Siasia. They have both shown it over the years that they can do it. We are all witnesses to what Amunike did in Tanzania. What has Chelle achieved aside from taken Mali to the semifinal of the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivorie. Anyway, it has always been NFF’s style to hand over the Super Eagles coaching job to someone they could push around.”

For the University of Alabama A&M University graduate, he does not see the five capped Aiglons of Mali coach taking the Super Eagles to the Eldorado.

“I can’t see this their new coach taking the Super Eagles anywhere. He has already failed even before starting. This is not the kind of coach our players would respect, considering where these players are coming from. Look at the club sides Chelle had coached in the past, how many of them are in the class of our Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, clubs?” he queried.

Another ex-international and former Super Falcons coach, Kadiri Ikhana, said he was disappointed at the choice of the new gaffer, just as he decried the fact that the NFF has not given homegrown coaches the chance to showcase their qualities on the big stage.

According to him, Chelle does not possess better records than Nigerian Indigenous coaches, thereby questioning why such an appointment was made.

“I think it is a terrible decision because Eric Chelle is not better than our local coaches, and if we don’t give our local coaches the chance to grow, how would they develop?

“There are many homegrown coaches who have proved themselves in the league and, most importantly, at international assignments, but strangely they are ignored by NFF.

“They need this type of opportunity to gather enough experience and prove themselves at the international level, sincerely I am not happy about this,” Ikhana, who guided Enyimba to lift the African Champions League in 2003, told NAN.

Similarly, an ex-international and Chairman, Professionals Football Association of Nigeria, Task Force, Harrison Jalla, said the decision left much to be desired.

He noted that Chelle did not achieve much as Mali coach, where he failed at the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and also the on-going 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.

“Sincerely I don’t know the basis of this appointment; this is a coach that was sacked by the Malian Football Federation for poor performance.

“Out of five games he made only one game in the FIFA World Cup qualifications. In fact, he lost at home and put Mali in an impossible position.

“If we want to hire a coach, we should hire a coach that is superior to our home based. In fact, I am disappointed at the NFF, only they can explain to us what they saw in Chelle,” Jalla said.

Former Super Eagles defender, Sam Elijah also expressed his dissatisfaction with the NFF’s decision, condemning the hiring of Chelle and highlighting the value of homegrown coaching talent. “I don’t think this is the right appointment. We have a local coach (Austin Eguavoen) who has done well in our past matches,” Elijah said. “He came and he redeemed the team. Now, they have been canvassing for a foreign coach all this while. 

“I don’t know what the NFF is looking for. For me, bringing Eric Chelle to take over the national team is a slap on our football.”

Elijah further questioned the credentials of Chelle, comparing his career to that of Eguavoen, and argued that the former was not a suitable fit for the Super Eagles. “Who is Eric Chelle compared to Austin Eguavoen, in any way? Look at the playing career, look at the two of them playing for their various national teams. “How many caps does he have, what was his achievement the last time he took the national team to Côte d’Ivoire, he couldn’t get to the final,” Elijah added. The former Super Eagles defender went on to emphasise that Eguavoen was the better option for the national team, citing the players’ trust in the local coach and the positive impact he had since taking charge.

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.

At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire, Chelle’s Mali came very close to a place in the semi-finals, losing to hosts and eventual winners Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 after extra time.

The 47-year-old featured for Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres and Chamois Niortais in France during his playing career.

His appointment is with immediate effect, and he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.  

How well the 47-year-old is acceptable to Nigeria football fraternity and indeed the Super Eagles players when the 2026 World Cup qualifiers resume in March remains to be seen considering the criticism his appointment is generating.