The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) intends to sponsor specialized technical training for Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle at several elite European clubs. Former NFF President and current FIFA Council member Amaju Pinnick confirmed that he is coordinating with FIFA Technical Director Arsene Wenger to organize these high-level internships.
The initiative aims to augment Chelle’s existing tactical expertise following Nigeria’s successful bronze-medal finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Current NFF President Ibrahim Gusau officially endorsed the Franco-Malian tactician, highlighting Chelle’s transformative impact since his January 2024 appointment. Under his leadership, the Super Eagles have maintained an incredible 17-match unbeaten streak in regulation time, securing 11 wins and 6 draws. During the recent tournament in Morocco, the team set a national record by scoring 14 goals, the most Nigeria has ever recorded in a single edition of the competition.
Captain Wilfred Ndidi and the national team squad have also expressed their support for the manager, emphasizing the need for stability ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers and the 2026 World Cup campaign. Nigeria’s recent victory over Egypt ensured they have now reached the podium in 17 of their 21 tournament appearances. Gusau noted that the federation expects the coaching staff to begin immediate preparations for the March international window to build on the team’s current momentum.
Amaju Pinnick detailed the plan during a recent press briefing: “As for the coach, I’ve spoken to him. I’ve also spoken to NFF. I spoke with Arsene (Wenger), you know, the head of FIFA technical, and I said, ‘No, listen. He’s exceptionally good, but we still need even the best physicians still go for further training.’
That he can still do some kind of internship in some of these top clubs all over the world, just to give him, you know, some of the add-ons in terms of football and technical ability, which I believe they will do. I’ve spoken with the (NFF) president, and I met with Arsene yesterday, and then we are working towards that, so we are happy.”
Ibrahim Gusau reinforced this commitment to continuity: “As the head of a hard-working technical crew, Mr Chelle has done exceedingly well within the one year he has been with us. He has shown enormous capacity, and we will continue to work with him.
The journey to the next AFCON starts immediately (in March). We do not have the luxury of time to continue dwelling on what we have done here. We must set to work immediately. For now, we are excited about the squad that we have. Remember also that a couple of very good players missed the tournament as a result of injury. The bottomline is that the future looks very bright.”
Wilfred Ndidi added his support for the manager: “For continuity, I feel like they should keep the coach because he is a wonderful manager; the only thing we need in this team is continuity. We should not change things now because we did not make it to the final; we should remain focused because there are so many competitions ahead.”
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