Eric Chelle is the newly appointed head coach of the Nigerian national football team, find out more about him and his career below along with his family, wife and religion details
Eric will come in as a replacement for Augustine Eguavoen, who led the Super Eagles, as their interim charge.
Who is Eric Chelle new coach of Nigeria football team, bio, age, height, family, parents, wife, nationality, ethnicity, religion, salary and profile stats
Introducing Eric Chelle, New Head Coach of the Super Eagles #soarsupereagles #naija4thewin #letsdoitagain pic.twitter.com/zxY0GxmTAV
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 7, 2025
Following his appointment, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) issued a statement on Tuesday stating that Chelle:
has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.”
However, the federation did not reveal any other details about the exact length of Chelle’s contract.
Eric Sekou Chelle bio
Eric Sekou Chelle is a professional football manager and a former player who was born on November 11, 1977, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He was born to a French father and a Malian mother in a Christian family making him a French-Malian. He mainly played as a centre-back during his player career, making five appearances for the Mali national team despite having a chance to represent France as well.
Details about his relationship status and wife aren’t known.
The new Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle will receive $55,000 (about N84,984,900.00) as monthly salary.
Full name: Éric Sékou Chelle
Date of Birth: November 11, 1977
Nationality: Malian and French
Place of birth: Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Age: 47 years old
Position: Centre-back, Mali manager
Height: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Age and height
Eric Chelle is currently 47 years old and stands at a height of 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in).
Nationality
Eric Chelle holds French nationality and spent his whole career in France, appearing for Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres, and Chamois Niortais. At the international level, he represented Mali.
"We should believe in him (Éric Chelle). We shouldn't look at the color of his skin."
– Former NFF President Amaju Pinnick pic.twitter.com/4AZtm4m1bZ
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) January 9, 2025
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Eric Chelle got appointed in May 2021 as head coach of US Boulogne in the French lower division. However, he got sacked later that same year in December after the club gained just three points in ten games. The following year, in 2022, Chelle served as the manager of Mali before getting dismissed on June 13, 2024. During his time with them, the 47-year-old led Mali to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Just recently, on January 7, 2025, the Nigeria Football Federation appointed Chelle as the coach of the Nigeria Senior Football National Team, the Super Eagles. Interestingly, Nigerian football fans have issued widespread resistance and criticism against the announcement. Many fans have gone online to label the new manager as “a French Ligue 2 veteran.”
Eric Chelle Coaching Stats and Record
Managed 30 Games, Won 16, Drew 6, Lost 8 —53.33% Win Rate
FC Martigues: November 2017 – May 2021
Managed 80 Games, Won 35 , Drew 24, Lost 21—43.75% Win Rate
Boulogne: May 2021 – December 2021
Managed 16 Games, Won 2, Drew 5, Lost 9 —12.50% Win Rate
Mali: May 2022 – June 2024
Managed 22 Games, Won 14, Drew 5, Lost 3—63.64% Win Rate
MC Oran: October 2024
Managed 7 Games, Won 2, Drew 1, Lost 4—28.57% Win Rate
Nigeria: January 2025
Total: 148 Games, Won 67, Drew 40, Lost 41—45.27% Win Rate
Eric Chelle has an Instagram account with the handle @eric_chelle, where he has over 26.2K followers and about 66 posts.