President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, issued a verdict on Eric Chelle’s future as Super Eagles head coach while offering an assessment of Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, Footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles enjoyed an impressive outing at the AFCON but unfortunately had to settle for third place after losing on penalties to host nation Morocco in the semi-final.
Despite their failure to deliver a fourth AFCON triumph, Chelle’s charges won the hearts of many Nigerians with the quality and intensity of their performances in a domineering run to the last four.
In his assessment of Nigeria’s campaign, Gusau praised the Super Eagles and took pride in their performances. He also reserved praise for Eric Chelle, revealing that the NFF will be keeping the Franco-Malian on board.
Ibrahim Gusau’s assessment
“Actually, when we landed in Morocco towards the end of last year, our objective was to win the AFCON trophy and be the champions of Africa,” Gusau said after the third-place play-off win over Egypt.
“Today, we finished in third place and won the bronze medals instead. We missed our target but my joy is in the way our team played. They have played with zest and patriotic fervour, and showed resilience and character.
“The NFF is proud of the team’s campaign and will continue to do its best to encourage, support and motivate the team as we go forward.
“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.”
With the NFF’s backing now clearly stated, Chelle is set to continue leading the Super Eagles into the next phase of their rebuilding process, with World Cup qualifiers and future continental ambitions firmly in view.
