Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, said the Super Eagles head coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, is motivated to coach the team that was why he accepted the job with a pay cut.
The Franco-Malian coach who quitted his job at MC Oran of Algeria for Nigeria will be earning something less compared to his salary at the Algerian club.
Speaking at the official unveiling of Coach Chelle on Monday in Abuja, Dikko said Eric Chelle came to Nigeria highly motivated and his ambition clearly aligns with Super Eagles quest for 2026 World Cup qualification.
“We are looking for someone to get down to work straight away and qualify us for the World Cup and Eric comes highly motivated, recommended and qualified.
“If he reenacts his winning ratio at Mali, I am sure we will qualify. Eric is quite motivated and determined to get this job done, the reason he took a huge pay cut to be here with us. This clearly shows the mindset and ambition of Eric which clearly aligns with our ambition for the Super Eagles,” Dikko stated.
Dikko said the NSC will support the Nigeria Football Federation to succeed in the quest for World Cup qualification and beyond. “If the NFF succeeds, we (NSC) succeed. If the NFF fails, we fail. So we will do all we can to support them to succeed. This is what I have been telling all the other Sports Federations and I am telling NFF the same thing now. Our destinies are sort of tied together.”
According to him, the process that produced Chelle as the 37th Super Eagles chief coach.was thorough and transparent. “The process to select Eric was thorough. At the NSC we followed all the processes and all the details and we are happy with the process that produced Eric. I must congratulate Eric for being part of this great opportunity to be part of Nigeria’s journey in football.
“People are saying that this process negates the plans of the National Sports Commission to take our football from competition-driven to development-driven industry. It has not. It has actually advanced that course. People have forgotten that we are all in ECOWAS and ECOWAS is supposed to be one united family. And our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the Chairman of ECOWAS.
So to have a Franco-Malian here is another opportunity for bonding in ECOWAS and expanding our influence as leaders in the ECOWAS region and beyond.
“So I will enjoin all stakeholders to stop all this negativity and support Eric. We on our part will do all we can to get the desired results”, he concluded.
Earlier, NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau had pointed out that the choice of Chelle was geared towards having a smoother ride in the remaining World Cup qualifiers. On his part, Chelle promised to unleash the inherent attacking potentials of the Super Eagles,’ he added.
