AFCON: NFF sets target for Nigeria coach Eric Chelle

Ahead of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) participation, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau confirmed the target coach Eric Chelle must achieve with the Super Eagles in Morocco.

 

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The Super Eagles will return to action following their failed attempt to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Nigeria’s journey to qualify came to an end in the regional playoffs after losing to DR Congo on penalties following a 1-1 draw in extra time.

The World Cup miss elicited debate among Nigerians on Chelle’s continuity to head the national team. The Malian tactician was spared by NFF and will now take the team to Morocco for the 35th edition of the AFCON.

According to Gusau, Chelle has been told to at least take Nigeria to the final of the tournament.
”The mandate is for him to get to the final of the tournament,” Chelle told Segun Odegbami on Eagle 103.7 FM’s Saturday morning show as quoted by Complete Sports.

Nigeria will face Tanzania in AFCON opener

The Super Eagles, runners-up at the last AFCON, will open their Group C campaign on 23 December against Tanzania, before facing Tunisia and Uganda as they aim to secure early qualification for the knockout rounds.

Meanwhile, Gusau dismissed allegation that he was working behind coach Chelle while instructing him of players to select for the national team duties.

“Any national coach can be asked privately if me, Ibrahim Gusau as NFF president has ever called them to say this is a player that must be taken into a team. I have never done that.”

“I know quite well few days ago the technical committee has been speaking with Eric Chelle and when people are talking I want them to be careful about what is going on especially in social media because there are a lot of interest. The environment is highly polluted, every area of football sector, you will find a lot of agents roaming about in that sector.”

Gusau further defender the selection criteria used by Chelle while unveiling his 28-man squad with star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman headlining a group stacked with attacking firepower.

“If you are a player in Serie A and sit on the bench and hardly play 20 or 25 minutes and someone plays in a league where he plays week in week out and performing well, then how can someone who sits on the bench in Serie A be invited?’ Gusau posed a question.

“I think the coaches have a mandate and football now is scientific and every coach has a pattern of play he wants to play. So we have people who go out to talk without making proper investigation to know why but because of certain interest.

And like I said the environment is highly polluted because of this agent issues and which comes from all sectors be it the coaches, media people who are now agents, so they can talk anyhow when it comes to selection of players. Unfortunately for them these players are known by everybody and whose information can be gotten.

So I don’t have and I will never have any input or interest in telling the coach which player he is going to invite. Since I became president I have never even stayed in one hotel with the senior national team whenever they go because I don’t want to distract the coach and I don’t want any distraction with the players, I want them to concentrate and do their job, so I have never done that and I will never do that.”

With the top two progressing automatically—and four of the six third-placed teams also advancing—Nigeria enter the competition as one of the favourites to reach the latter stages.