Nigerians have taken to social media to applaud the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to renew Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle’s contract and hand him additional responsibility for the national U-23 team.
The reactions followed confirmation by National Sports Commission chairman Shehu Dikko that terms had been agreed with Chelle on a new contract reportedly worth $100,000 per month, alongside fresh performance benchmarks for the coach and his assistants.
Chelle has also been appointed to oversee the Dream Team ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualifiers, with the NSC describing the move as part of a unified technical philosophy linking the youth and senior national teams.
On X, Prince Nelson wrote, “This is good news. I congratulate NFF and Coach Eric Chelle.”
Jim Gold could not resist a dig at the NFF’s previous decisions, posting in pidgin, “Their body don tell them na. Them don see their mates for World Cup abi?”
Olatunde Jamiu expressed surprise at the level of public goodwill behind the coach, writing, “I never believe all Nigerians can ever love a coach like this.”
David Chizi-Solomon backed the decision while noting that Chelle’s work with the U-23 side could also benefit the senior team.
“Good deal. He shapes his future by handling the Under-23 team — he can mould some players for the senior team,” he wrote.
Scott Ayo-Okhiria echoed that view, adding, “Consistency is needed now and taking part in Under-23 is a great way to get young, hungry talents and even home-grown talents.”
For Suleiman Madaki, the renewal represented a rare moment of sound judgment from the federation.
“For the first time in a long while, NFF have made one of the best decisions in appointing a coach. Eric Chelle deserves this opportunity,” he wrote.
Bello Aderemile drew a historical parallel with Nigeria’s famous Golden Generation, writing, “That U-23 part is very good. The future of the main Super Eagles is taking shape with the structure he will put in place.
“The Golden Generation of Super Eagles had to last till the 2000s because the Dream Team of ‘96 had almost all active members of the main team.”
Stephen Enunwah described the development as a welcome one, urging the coach to make the most of the U-23 brief.
“This is a welcome development. Let him train our upcoming stars as well,” he said, while Ric Macdonald praised the continuity the arrangement would provide.
“This is commendable. A good transition in football from the U-23 to the senior team,” he wrote.
Dikko confirmed the deal after a high-level meeting at the NSC headquarters in Abuja attended by NSC Director-General Bukola Olopade, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and Chelle.
Dikko said the arrangement was designed to create a unified technical identity across the U-23 and senior national teams rather than operating separate football philosophies.
Nigeria’s U-23 side, popularly known as the Dream Team, remains one of Africa’s most successful Olympic football teams. The side won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, silver at Beijing 2008 and bronze at Rio 2016. However, Nigeria failed to qualify for the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.
The renewal comes after Chelle guided Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and steered the Super Eagles to the African World Cup play-offs, where they were eliminated by DR Congo on penalties. Nigeria subsequently missed a second consecutive World Cup after also failing to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Dikko said the focus was now on building towards the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and securing a return to the World Cup in 2030.
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