The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have put on hold plans to engage former coach of Mali Eric Chelle as the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Chelle was picked by the technical committee of the NFF after an interview with two other coaches in Tom Saintfeit and Steve McClaren who has since picked up the job of the coach of Jamaica.
However, the president of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusau has set the plans aside for now and meet with Frenchman Herve Renard, a two time Africa Cup of Nations winner with Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire respectively.
Renard has left his role as the coach of the women’s team of France following their elimination from the Paris Olympics games, and he is keen on returning back to working in men’s football particularly in Africa where he is well regarded.
His representative will meet with the NFF president and the minister for sports to speak on terms, with the coach expected to take a huge pay cut if he is to get the job. He has earlier demanded an astonishing 300 million Naira a month pay previously.
However it is believed that a former president of the NFF has convinced his representative to have him take a pay cut and use the platform of the Super Eagles to fire himself back to the top for men’s football.
Talks will happen by the weekend and there are hopes that he will accept the job, but if he doesn’t then the football body will return to the recommended choice in Chelle ahead of the team’s next competitive engagement in September.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
