- Eric Chelle To Undergo Advanced Training With Top European Clubs
- Pinnick and Wenger back internships to strengthen Chelle’s technical depth
- NFF and players insist continuity is key to Nigeria’s future success
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle is set to further develop his technical expertise through short training stints with leading European clubs, while retaining his role with Nigeria’s national team.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the plan was confirmed by former Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick, who disclosed that discussions are already underway to place the Franco Malian tactician in internship programmes at elite clubs across Europe. According to Pinnick, the initiative has received the backing of FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger.
Pinnick revealed that the talks were held shortly after Nigeria secured third place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
“As for the coach, I’ve spoken to him. I’ve also spoken to NFF. I spoke with Arsene, you know, the head of FIFA technical, and I said, ‘No, listen. He’s exceptionally good, but we still need even the best physicians to go for further training,’” Pinnick said.
He explained that the proposal was not an indictment of Chelle’s ability, but an effort to further strengthen his technical depth and exposure.
“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,” he added.
The Nigeria Football Federation has also expressed strong confidence in Chelle. NFF president Ibrahim Gusau praised the coach’s influence since his appointment in January 2024, describing his work as impressive and forward looking.
“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,” Gusau said.
Under Chelle, the Super Eagles have remained unbeaten in regulation time in 17 competitive matches, recording 11 wins and six draws. The team also scored a record 14 goals at a single AFCON tournament, finishing the competition without a regulation time defeat.
Gusau said preparations for the next AFCON qualifiers would begin immediately.
“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 work immediately,” he said.
“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 bottom line is that the future looks very bright.”
Team captain Wilfred Ndidi also backed the coach, stressing the importance of stability.
“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,” Ndidi said.
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