More Football Analysts and administrators have voiced their opinion on coach Sekou Eric Chelle taking over as Super Eagles B Sports247 reports.
The media has been filled up with different colours of opinions since the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF announced Sekou Eric Chelle as the new coach of the Super Eagles.
Read Also: CAF U17 GIFT Highlights The Vibrancy Of Young Match Officials
And the debate was taken to another level, when the Nigeria Football Federation through its president, Ibrahim Gusau, pointed out that the new coach will be the one to lead the Super Eagles B, to the 2024 Africa Cup Championship of Nations, (2024 CHAN) slated for Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Gusau said : “We have come out with the policy that whoever we employ as the Super Eagles will also be the one to manage the affairs of the CHAN Eagles,” Gusau said in an interview shortly before the announcement of Sekou Eric Chelle.
The NFF President expantiated the on the reason for the take over of the role by the new coach.
“We want players from the domestic league to be injected into the Super Eagles and there is no way a coach will tell us he could find any one of the home based good enough to be injected into the Super Eagles after the CHAN competition ”
The CHAN competition is an exclusive reserve for players based at home as designed by Confederation of Africa Football, CAF.
Nigeria’s indigenous coaches were the ones that has been taking charge of the team since the competition was inaugurated.
Many views the combination of Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu handling the affairs of the team as the best ever in terms those that really understand the mentality of the home players having spent at least a decade in the league.
According to the NFF Technical Director, Coach Austin Eguavoen, both coaches are best in the Nigeria Premier Football League at present and they have been around for years, they know the players very well, paraphrasing, Coach Augustine Eguavoen on his choice to pick both coaches as assistants and as the Super Eagles B coaches.
Same sentiment shared many followers of the NPFL and the 3-1 aggregate drubbing of the Black Galaxies of Ghana further corroborates this view.
Lots of Nigerians were hoping to see a true representation of the NPFL at the CHAN in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya but all those bubbles were bursted by Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau comment, on the arrival of Sekou Eric Chelle.
Analysts and football administrators and journalists have been examining the implication of this decision and how it will affect the team.
In a chat with Kunle Oyeleye, the General Manager of Crown Football Club of Ogbomosho, if Sekou Chelle takes over the Super Eagles B, will mean a bleak future for coaching in Nigeria Football.
“If he takes over CHAN then the future of Coaching in Nigeria football is bleak.”
He advised the NFF to allow the coaches to continue the good job since they have stated on a good note as it will also serve as a way of encouraging the local coaches to prove their mettle.
“Let our own guys continue the good job they have been doing . This is a way to encourage homegrown talents and expertise.”
“We all need one platform to prove our mettle and fortunately the duo of Ogunmodede and Ilechukwu have shown class and dexterity at handling the team.” Kunle Oyeleye submitted.
Ademola Olamilekan, a football journalist and administrator, said the intention of the NFF is for the general good of the players and promotion of the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL.
Olamilekan posited: ” If we understand what the NFF president is trying to do we would still agree with him that they(NFF) are also on the course to promote the NPFL players.”
“What Gusau was trying to do is if the main Super Eagles Coach is also double as CHAN EAGLES Coach, it would be easier for him to bring them into the main Eagles”.
For Ayoola Adeleke, a Sports Journalist based in Edo State, the addition of one or two home based players won’t bring any significant change to the Super Eagles, hence it’s an excuse for Sekou Eric Chelle to take over the good job that Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu.
“To what end would Chelle leading the guys to CHAN be? Will that change the fact that only two players will eventually make the Super Eagles call-up when it’s time for qualifiers?
How, then, do you expect the best from the local coaches when you give them tasks in the future to rescue the team when the need arises? Ayoola wants to know .
He then advised the NFF to change the mind on the decision.
“Let Daniel and Fidelis continue their work. For Chelle, he can go as Super Eagles coach and watch the guys in CHAN to see who can make his team in the Super Eagles”.
For Durowara Adedotun,the General manager of Cornerstone football club Ibadan, he termed the impending take over of the CHAN team from Sekou Eric Chelle as wild interference that might destabilise the team as both Ogunmodede and Fidelis are doing well so far, hence they should continue to show case what they offer as a coach.
“Any interference from an incoming coach might destabilize the team setup”
Francis Joseph, a sports enthusiast from Ondo State shares a similar view ” Personally i feel it’s a wrong move, they( Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu) should have allowed the both of them to lead the team to the upcoming CHAN tournament.”
For Abiodun Apena, aka BiodunSports, a Sports Journalist in Ibadan,
The international may be good but it’s a misplaced priority and premature .
“While the intention to bring in fresh leadership to improve the team’s performance may seem positive, it could be argued that this decision is premature”.
He went to enumerate reasons Sekou Eric Chelle should not take as the Super Eagles B coach this time .
“Firstly, introducing a new coach at this stage may disrupt the team’s cohesion and affect the morale of the players who are already familiar with the current coaching staff.”
“Secondly, the players may face challenges in adapting to a new coaching style and tactics, leading to confusion on the field and potentially affecting their performance and stability, which are crucial for team success.”
He warmed the NFF not to destroy the team’s progress which is built on the familiarity between the existing coaching staff and the players.
He concluded that the NFF has a bigger fish to fry in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where the team is presently struggling and advised the Nigeria Football body to shift all their focus on qualifying the Super Eagles for the World Cup and that should main thrust of Sekou Eric Chelle appointment for now
“The NFF’s focus should not solely be on the CHAN team but rather focus on strategizing how the senior team can qualify for the 2026 World Cup, especially after failing to qualify for the previous tournament.”
“While success in every competition is important, the NFF may benefit more from supporting the current coaching crew who have worked hard to prepare the team for the CHAN tournament.” Biodun Apena concluded.
