Former Super Eagles defender Sam Sodje has praised Eric Chelle’s early work as Nigeria head coach but warned that the NFF must reform its internal structures if the country is to compete at the highest level going forward, Footynaija.com reports.
Speaking to Brila FM after Nigeria’s two-game friendly window, Sodje assessed the camp positively while making clear that technical competence at the team level alone will not be enough without matching administrative quality at the federation.
“It has been a decent outing, played two games, drew one. You can see what the manager is trying to do, he is trying to get an identity for the team. We saw a few players make their debut, decent players, we saw a decent outing in both games,” the five-cap Super Eagles star said.
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Sodje was quick to pivot, however, directing his comments more at the NFF rather than Chelle’s technical crew. He argued that poor organisation and a failure to modernise the federation’s decision-making structures remain the central problem for Nigerian football.
“It’s gone now, we have to start thinking about where we are as a country. The NFF has to be reformed, the old guards have to give way, we have to understand that preparation is key,” he said.
“We have to start preparing for the next one because we are so behind when it comes to organisation, and technically we are so behind as well.”
Sodje was careful to separate the federation’s technical committee from Chelle’s bench staff, making clear the criticism was aimed upward rather than at the coaching setup itself.
“When I say technically, I am not talking about Eric Chelle and the technical crew of the national team. I am talking about the technical committee at the NFF, they have to do better,” he clarified.
The former defender ended with a direct appeal to administrators, framing the issue as a matter of fairness to Nigeria’s football-supporting public.
“We have to know exactly what we want for our country. It is not fair to the fans we deserve better,” Sodje said.
Nigeria drew one and won one across the two friendlies, with Chelle using the window to assess fringe options and hand competitive minutes to players on the periphery of the squad.
