Top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have come out to debunk reports that the technical director of the football house Austine Eguavoen has been placed on standby as replacement for head coach Eric Chelle, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Report says Eguavoen will likely be in charge of the team for the upcoming friendly games in November, if the team fails to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which ends next week with Nigeria third and their group and hoping for results elsewhere to go their way in order to qualify.
Chelle who took over the team will reportedly lose his job with Eguavoen lined up as his replacement alongside former Nigeria U20 coach Ladan Bosso, who is currently in charge of Nigeria Premier Football League side Barau FC.
However officials of the NFF say the report is just a figment of the imagination of the writer and platform, because no decision has been reached yet on the future of Chelle.
Another official said there is every chance that Chelle will lead the team to the AFCON from where a decision will be taken on his future. He said it will be unfair to judge the Malian with the world cup qualifiers considering where he met them.
Meanwhile sources at the National Sports Commission (NSC) also said they have not been informed about the decision on Chelle, and the NFF can’t fire him without their approval because they have been responsible for his salary.
