Chelle names assistant coaches for U-23 Eagles

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle will have Ikorodu City coach Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega as his assistants. They will help him prepare the Olympic Eagles for the qualifiers for the men’s football event at the 2028 Olympic Games, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Chelle started handling the U-23 team in June after talks with the Nigeria Football Federation about a new contract.

In a statement released by the National Sports Commission on Tuesday, Chelle praised Ortega and Ozebagbe. He called them some of the best young coaches in Nigeria with strong backgrounds. He expressed excitement about working with them for the Olympic team.

Ozebagbe is the technical adviser for the Nigeria Premier Football League side Ikorodu City. His team just missed out on a continental ticket at the end of last season. Ortega is a UEFA-licensed coach trained by the Scottish Football Association.

Ortega is also one of the assistant coaches for the Nigeria Flying Eagles. The statement mentioned that Chelle and his coaching staff will start camp soon in Abuja to prepare for the qualifiers.

Chelle, who is from France and Mali, has been tasked with bringing Nigeria back to the men’s football event at the Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years. This journey starts with the qualifiers for the 2027 U-23 AFCON in November.

Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles will play either Mauritania or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round of the 2027 U-23 AFCON qualifiers. They received a bye into this stage.

The draw took place in Cairo, Egypt, last Tuesday. Nigeria is among 14 nations that received a bye based on their performances in the last three editions of the tournament.

Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo will compete in the first round. The winner of that match will go on to face Nigeria.

The first-round matches are set for September 28 and October 6. Nigeria’s second-round games will take place on November 9 and 17, with the Olympic Eagles playing the first leg away from home.

If Nigeria moves forward, they will meet the winner of the match between Burkina Faso and either Sierra Leone or Zambia in the third and final round. Those matches are scheduled for March 22-30, 2027.

Seven teams will qualify for the finals, along with hosts Egypt. This eight-team tournament will also serve as Africa’s qualifying event for the men’s football competition at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.