The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Malian coach, Éric Sékou Chelle, as Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
This was contained in a statement by the NFF communications department on Tuesday evening.
The statement reads in part: “At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd January 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had recommended the appointment of former Coach of the senior men’s national team of Mali as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. This recommendation was on Tuesday, 7th January, endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee.
“Chelle, who won five caps for the Aiglons of Mali and coached clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran, has been head coach of the Aiglons since 2022.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Eric Chelle:
- He was born on November 11, 1977, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Chelle holds Malian citizenship. and was raised in France by his French father and Malian mother.
- During his playing days, he was a central defender. Chelle featured prominently in French football, representing clubs like Valenciennes, Lens, Istres, and Chamois Niortais. He earned five caps for the Malian national team between 2004 and 2006.
- Chelle transitioned into coaching, managing clubs such as GS Consolat (France amateur league), FC Martigues (Ligue 2), Boulogne (Championnat National), and MC Oran (Algerian Ligue), which spans from 2017 to 2022.
- He was appointed head coach of the Mali national team in May 2022, guiding them to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, a competition in which the Super Eagles, led by Jose Peseiro came second.
- His journey with the Malian national team ended when he was dismissed the Mali’s football body in June 2024, gathering two years of experience as a national coach.
- His highest achievement as a national team coach is taking the Mali national team to the quarter-finals of the AFCON in 2023.
- Chelle boasts a career record of 67 wins, 40 draws, and 41 losses, resulting in a win percentage of 45.27%.
- He is fluent in French, English, and several African languages.
