The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, has called on Nigerians to support the newly appointed Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, amid widespread criticism following his appointment.

Chelle, a former Mali international, was unveiled as the 42nd substantive head coach of the Super Eagles on Monday during a ceremony held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Gusau expressed confidence in Chelle’s ability to revive Nigeria’s fortunes in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

“Eric is here to work and give results. I want to assure Nigerians that if Eric can give us what he gave Mali, we are going to the World Cup.

We want somebody that understands the mentality of African football and Eric is here and he will give us the results.”

The NFF President assured that both the Federation and the Sports Commission are fully committed to giving Chelle everything he needs to succeed.

Chelle will immediately take on a supervisory role with the home-based Super Eagles as they prepare for the 2024 African Nations Championship, CHAN.

He is set to join the team in Ikenne to observe and work closely with the players and coaching staff.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday) Eric is going to move to Ikenne to be with our CHAN eagles and he is also going to stay there in a supervisory role, to look at the team and work with them.

The 47-year-old coach has been tasked with turning around Nigeria’s dismal World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Super Eagles currently sit fifth in Group C with just three points from four matches and are yet to record a win.

Chelle’s journey as head coach will begin with the CHAN tournament, after which the focus will shift to reigniting Nigeria’s World Cup hopes when qualifiers resume in March 2025.