The Nigerian Football Federation NFF has appointed Eric Sekou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles. His appointment is with immediate effect and has been given the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.
But, who is Eric Chelle? He was born on November 11, 1977 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire to a French father and a Malian mother. He played football as a Centre-back. He played 74 matches for Marigues of France between 1998 and 2003.
He moved to Valenciennes Football Club playing 142 times and scoring 10 goals between 2003 and 2008. In the next three seasons, he played 82 times for Lens. From 2011 to 2013 he laced his boots for Istres and scored a goal in his 60 appearances.
Between 2013 and 2014 he played 17 times for Chamois Niortais. He featured five times for the Eagles of Mali between 2004 and 2006.
He started his managerial career as an assistant manager for French amateur side Groupe Sportif Consolat known today as Athletico Marseille from 2014 to 2016. He became the substantive coach in the next seasons. He won 16 of the 30 matches he was in charge, drew six and lost eight matches.
He moved to Football Club de Martigues in 2017 and stayed there till 2021, when he moved to Boulogne. At FC Martigues he won 35 matches, drew 24 and lost 21 matches.
He took charge of the Eagles of Mali between 2022 and 2024. He won 14 of the 22 matches, a win percentage of 63.64%. At the AFCON the Eagles of Mali opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa before drawing 1-1 with the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia and 0-0 with the Brave Warriors of Namibia. Eric Chelle’s side defeated the Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-1 to reach the quarter-final where they lost to the eventual champions, Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 after extra time.
