Chelle and NFF agree new four year deal that sees him taking charge of U23 team too

SUPER Eagles head coach Eric Chelle and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have agreed a new four year deal that includes his monthly salary being doubled  and  him taking charge of the U23 squad the Olympic Dream Team.

Yesterday, following months of speculation, the NFF and the coach finally agreed on the terms of the new package after it met in Abuja. Under the terms of the new deal, Chelle, 48, will now earn around $100,000 per month, while the NFF will take responsibility for paying his coaching staff.

Mr Chelle initially took charge of the Super Eagles  in January 2025 on a two-year deal and impressed with the progress he has made so far, the NFF has decided to extend his contract. Before this agreement, Mr Chelle earned around $50,000 per month and had requested $130,000 for a new deal but after weeks of negotiations, the two sides finally agreed on a monthly wage of $100,000.

A Franco-Malian, Mr Chelle was originally appointed with the primary task of guiding the Super Eagles to the 2026 World Cup. Despite Nigeria not qualifying, he has improved his standing with a strong showing at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles finished in third place and he has also recorded several encouraging results since taking over.

Following yesterday's meeting, Mallam Shehu Dikko, the chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), confirmed that Mr Chelle has agreed new terms to extend his contract. This deal also includes Mr Chelle taking charge of the U-23 side, the Dream Team, ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.

Mallam Dikko said: “I can confirm that we have agreed new terms with the coach and we are going to increase his money. We are also going to take care of his assistants who are helping him, and there are other benchmarks that we have put on the table.

“Also, we have discussed how we can build for the future. We have the upcoming African Cup of Nations and the next World Cup, and we have to start preparing now to ensure mistakes and deficits we have suffered do not happen again. We need to learn and improve.

“We have also agreed that the coach will take charge of the U-23 national team because there are players who move through that age group into the Super Eagles. Instead of having different ideas, we are going to have a more unified system to support Chelle and his team."                                                                                                          

Mr Chelle’s next major assignment will be guiding Nigeria through qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with the qualifiers set to begin in September. Nigeria's Super Eagles will compete in Group L alongside Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar, with only one qualification slot available.