The Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, defended the selection of Eric Chelle as the new head coach of the Super Eagles during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast show on Monday. 

Dikko highlighted Chelle's impressive track record, particularly his success with the Malian Eagles, where he notably led them to victory against the Super Eagles in a friendly match. He emphasized that Chelle possesses a strong grasp of African football dynamics, making him a suitable candidate for the role.

Last Tuesday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officially appointed Chelle as the head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, marking him as the third individual to lead the team since the departure of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro.

The announcement has sparked significant backlash among Nigerian sports enthusiasts, who criticized the football federation for opting to hire a former Malian coach instead of promoting local talent.

In response to the criticism, Dikko remarked that such reactions are typical, noting that there has never been a coaching appointment in Nigeria that has not faced some level of dissent, as every football fan tends to have their own perspective on coaching choices.

Shehu Dikko made these comments on the Sunrise Daily program on January 13, 2025. 

The sports commission also pointed out the urgency of the situation, stating, “We have a World Cup qualifier that is very dicey, very critical. We have three windows to play the qualifiers, and there is no opportunity for friendly matches or test games. Our upcoming matches are against fellow African nations – Zimbabwe, Rwanda, South Africa, Lesotho, and Benin.”

“So, the only person that can come at this moment if we want to get somebody that can bring fresh thinking to the team and lead the team is somebody with the experience of African football and this coach, you should judge him with the work he has done with the national team. Forget about the club, club football is different, national team is different.

“What is the foundation of the work he has done with the national team, what is the success rate? Eric was a coach of Mali and when he coached Mali, he made Mali a very strong team that everybody was afraid to play – they even defeated Nigeria in a friendly match, defeated South Africa in a friendly match, and totally, he played 22 games with Mali, won 14, draw 5, and only lost three and that shows credibility with what he is doing with the national team.

“The World Cup qualifiers that we are having, we all have to outscore our opponents, Eric, with Mali, in those 22 matches scored over 40 goals, he conceded only about 12 goals.

“So, you can see the philosophy, he is also defending well and he is scoring very well. He was able to outscore his opponents. Even in the last AFCON, he lost by the miracle of the last minute by a mistake. It’s normal like that but he came with that credibility and that is the fact that he came with a new thinking to the team.”

“There are no friendly matches, it is straight to the match and it is only somebody with experience of African football,” Dikko stressed, adding that even if star football managers José Mourinho and Alex Ferguson are recruited to coach the Super Eagles, they would need time to understand the team and there is no luxury of time.