Legendary Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has seemingly criticized the appointment of Eric Sekou Chelle as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
Okocha, who was capped 73 times by Nigeria during his playing days, has constantly expressed his disapproval about Chelle’s appointment arguing that the constant changes in coaches are damaging Nigeria’s chances of winning trophies.
The former Paris Saint Germain player has also vented his spleen on the top brass of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“The Super Eagles may not win any trophy until the current NFF officials are dissolved or reformed,” Okocha said as quoted by Nigerian publication The Guardian.
“Appoint new officials who know more about football, who have interest in football, who love football, whose lifestyles represent football.”
“When you change a coach, you have changed a dream, a vision, and a mission. It’s harmful to the players; they will lose focus, except the players themselves demand a better coach,” he added.
Eric Chelle, who has signed a two-year deal will be accompanied by three backroom staff members: Hadi Taboubi as an assistant, Thomas Gornourec as a fitness trainer and Jean-Daniel Padovani as the goalkeepers’ trainer.
The Super Eagles currently sit in fifth place in their group with three points from four matches and no wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Eric Chelle hopes to revive their chances when they take on Rwanda and Zimbabwe in the next round of the qualifiers in March later this year.
