Julius OkorieSuper Eagles new coach, Éric Sékou Chelle, is expected to arrive Abuja on Sunday to formerly cement his 2-year deal with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The Ivorian-born tactician was appointed Head coach of the Nigerian national team on Tuesday with the primary aim of taking the Super Eagles to the 2026 World Cup after the country against all permutations failed to qualify for the last edition in Qatar.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrimebusiness.africa understands that the 47-year-old former coach of Eagles of Mali, accepted a pay cut to become the head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Eric Chelle who was handling Algerian club side, MC Oran, before grabbing the Super Eagles job is to earn lower than his pay at the club. Understandably, pay cut cannot be compared to the prestige of bagging Super Eagles job considered one of the most sort-after coaching jobs in the African continent and beyond.
Coach Eric Chelle will earn a monthly salary of $55,000, which is equivalent to approximately ₦93,500,000.00. He will be accompanied by two assistants, each earning $5,000 or N8,500,000.
The Super Eagles are in the fifth place in Group C, having garnered just three points from four matches. Looking ahead, the team will face Amavubi of Rwanda and the Warriors of Zimbabwe when the qualifiers resume in March.
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However, Eric Chelle’s immediate responsibilities include overseeing the Super Eagles B team as they prepare for the 2025 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) set to take place in Morocco starting February 1, 2025.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles Team B, currently camping at the Remo Stars Sports Centre in Ikenne, are to embark on foreign training as part of preparation for the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, announced the decision, saying the initiative aims to enhance the team’s performance in the tournament. Efforts, according to him, are being coordinated to ensure the team is in optimal condition for the competition.
“We are intentionally creating an environment for the players to fully immerse themselves in training and eliminate distractions. They will have approximately two weeks at this location before we proceed to a foreign venue for high-quality friendly matches leading up to the tournament,” Gusau stated.
“We are fully committed to providing the team with the preparation they need to excel,” he added.
Gusau also informed that the policy of having the Head coach of national team as overseer of Eagles Team B sometimes dubbed CHAN Eagles is still in place, an indication that the new coach, Eric Chelle, will be part of the camping for the CHAN championship.
“We have established a policy that the coach of the Super Eagles will also oversee the CHAN Eagles, indicating our commitment to integrating players from the domestic league into the national team.”
The draw for CHAN 2024 is set to take place next Wednesday, January 15 at the International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
