Fans Excited About Chelle’s New Contract and U-23 Role

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.

Nigerians are celebrating the Nigeria Football Federation’s choice to renew Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle’s contract and give him the extra job of coaching the national U-23 team.

The news came after Shehu Dikko, the chairman of the National Sports Commission, announced that they had agreed on a new contract with Chelle. Reports say the deal is worth $100,000 per month and includes new performance goals for Chelle and his team.

Chelle will also lead the Dream Team as they prepare for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualifiers. The NSC said this decision is part of a plan to connect the technical direction of both the youth and senior national teams.

On X, Prince Nelson shared, "This is good news. I congratulate NFF and Coach Eric Chelle."

Jim Gold took a jab at the NFF’s past choices, posting in pidgin, "Their body don tell them na. Them don see their mates for World Cup abi?"

Olatunde Jamiu was surprised by the strong support for the coach, saying, "I never believe all Nigerians can ever love a coach like this."

David Chizi-Solomon supported the move and pointed out that Chelle’s experience with the U-23 team could help the senior team.

"Good deal. He shapes his future by handling the Under-23 team, he can mould some players for the senior team," he wrote.

Scott Ayo-Okhiria agreed, saying, "Consistency is needed now and taking part in Under-23 is a great way to get young, hungry talents and even home-grown talents."

Suleiman Madaki called the renewal a rare moment of good judgment from the federation.

"For the first time in a long while, NFF have made one of the best decisions in appointing a coach. Eric Chelle deserves this opportunity," he wrote.

Bello Aderemile connected this move to Nigeria’s famous Golden Generation, saying, "That U-23 part is very good. The future of the main Super Eagles is taking shape with the structure he will put in place.

"The Golden Generation of Super Eagles had to last till the 2000s because the Dream Team of ‘96 had almost all active members of the main team."

Stephen Enunwah welcomed the news and encouraged the coach to focus on developing young stars.

"This is a welcome development. Let him train our upcoming stars as well," he said, while Ric Macdonald praised the continuity this arrangement would bring.

"This is commendable. A good transition in football from the U-23 to the senior team," he wrote.

Dikko announced the deal after a meeting at the NSC headquarters in Abuja. Key attendees included NSC Director-General Bukola Olopade, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, and Chelle.

Dikko explained that the goal is to create a unified technical identity for both the U-23 and senior teams, rather than having them follow different football strategies.

Nigeria’s U-23 team, known as the Dream Team, is one of Africa’s top Olympic football squads. They won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, silver at Beijing 2008, and bronze at Rio 2016. Yet, Nigeria did not qualify for the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.

This renewal follows Chelle's success in leading Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. He also took the Super Eagles to the African World Cup play-offs, where they lost to DR Congo on penalties. Nigeria has missed the World Cup two times in a row, failing to qualify for Qatar 2022 as well.

Dikko stated that the focus now shifts to preparing for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and aiming for a return to the World Cup in 2030.