When the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) decsiesd to part ways with former coach Finidi George they didn’t have any idea that Eric Chelle will be his replacement, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Finidi was sacked after the Super Eagles 1-1 draw against South Africa and a 1-2 defeat to Benin Republic in the 2026 world cup qualifiers. His sacking came barely a month after he was appointed as replacement for Jose Peseiro.
He was one of the assistants of Peseiro when they reached the final of the AFCON two years ago, before losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final.
Following his sack , the NFF contacted as many as three coaches who declined to take up the job. They even officially announced Bruno Labbadia as the new coach without reaching an agreement on certain terms of the deal, which later led to its collapse.
Next in line was Swedish coach Janne Anderson, but again he backed out of the job not convinced that it’s a project that can succeed. He confirmed he wasn’t sure if taking up the job at that time was the right idea.
NFF still not giving up pitched their tent to celebrated French coach Herve Renard, who is famous in Africa for his feat on the continent but despite receiving an offer that he termed the best financially. He opt against taking up the job permanently.
At that junction, the NFF had no option but to turn to Eric Chelle, who has remained on the shortlist while they went in search of other coaches. Chelle wasted no time in accepting the role, leaving his job as coach of Algerian side MC Oran.
A football agent who works closely with the NFF revealed all of the above in an exclusive chat. ” They never really wanted Chelle not because of his ability but his nationality. Some board members said why will a Malian be the coach of Nigeria?. It took the intervention of the National Sports Commission (NSC) for Chelle to be appointed”, he said.
” Today I see Gusau celebrating the improvement under Chelle like he was his idea from the start. That isn’t true but it was only Chelle that accepted the job after the sacking of Finidi”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
