An explanation has emerged about why Super Eagles’ coach, Eric Sekou Chelle got an additional mandate to handle Nigeria’s under-23 national team as part of terms in his vastly improved new contract, Sports247 reports.
Egg heads of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took the step of saddling Chelle with responsibility of the Olympic Eagles in order to revive the glory days that saw the team win gold at Atlanta ’96, silver at Beijing 2008 and bronze at Rio 2016.
This is sequel to recent favourable ratings trailing the Franco-Malian gaffer, who many analysts and critics are now hailing as a tactically sound and technically gifted coach.
The turnaround started for Chelle at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where the Eagles put up a rare show of technical control, tactical balance and calm build-up play, which observers reckoned had not been seen in any previous Nigerian squad.
Although the team ended up in third place, the general consensus had been that the team played better and would have gone further had they not met a truly inspired host team in the semi-finals.
Soon after, Chelle took a bold step of dropping all his super regulars for the Eagles’ title defence at the Unity Cup in London, and his squad of second string players returned home with the trophy for the second straight year running.
That achievement appeared to underscore Chelle’s readiness, willingness and ability to put developmental approaches into his operations with the Super Eagles, which NFF buffs now want to take advantage of to the fullest.
Consequently, the NFF’s new mandate for Chelle with the country’s under-23 squad is part of a fresh package that includes a monthly salary of $100,000 and regular monitoring of Nigeria’s youth teams.
An NFF official revealed, “Chelle’s new contract is aimed at accelerating the development of young players and strengthening the transition from youth football to the Super Eagles.
“The decision reflects the NFF’s confidence in Chelle’s leadership and long-term vision for Nigerian football as preparations continue for the Nations Cup qualifiers.
“We expect that the arrangement would play a crucial role in building a stronger and more sustainable future for the Super Eagles and Nigerian football as a whole.”
