Chelle Gets New Super Eagles Contract, To Handle U-23 Eagles

Eric Chelle will continue as head coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles after agreeing to a new contract, with his salary set to increase from $50,000 to $100,000 per month. The deal, confirmed by National Sports Commission (NSC) chairman Shehu Dikko following a meeting between NSC and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials in Abuja, also includes a key change in how Chelle's backroom staff are paid. The NFF will now directly compensate his assistants, removing the previous arrangement where Chelle used part of his salary to cover their remuneration. Chelle had initially requested $130,000 monthly, which would have included payments for his team, but settled for the revised $100,000 package. His original two-year contract was due to run until the end of 2026, and the new agreement maintains that timeline while improving financial terms.

In addition to retaining his Super Eagles role, Chelle will now also lead the U-23 Eagles. The last time Nigeria's under-23 team qualified for the Olympics was in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, where they won bronze under coach Samson Siasia. They failed to qualify for both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Dikko stated that integrating the Super Eagles and U-23 Eagles leadership is part of a broader strategy to build towards the 2030 World Cup and future continental tournaments. He emphasized the need to learn from past mistakes in national team management and qualification campaigns. "We have discussed how we can build for the future because now we have the next AFCON, we have the next World Cup so we have to start preparing now," Dikko said. "We also agreed with the NFF that the coach will also take car"

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