Shehu Dikko, chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), has confirmed that a fresh agreement has been concluded between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Eric Chelle.
Dikko made the disclosure on Tuesday during a meeting in Abuja attended by Ibrahim Gusau and other NFF officials.
Chelle’s original two-year contract was due to expire at the end of 2026, and discussions over an extension had remained unresolved in recent months.
According to Dikko, the revised deal comes with improved financial terms for the Franco-Malian coach and expands his responsibilities to include leading Nigeria’s men’s U-23 national team.
Although details of the contract length and financial package were not disclosed, Dikko explained that the federation will now cover the salaries of Chelle’s backroom staff. Under the previous arrangement, reports suggested the coach personally handled payments for his assistants.
“I can confirm to you that we have reached a new term with the coach. We are going to increase his money and also take care of his assistants who are helping him. And there are other benchmarks that we have put on the table, and I’m sure the coach will be very excited about it,” Dikko said.
“We have also discussed how we can build for the future. In that aspect, we also agree with the coach and the NFF that the coach should take care of the U-23 national team.”
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Chelle took charge of the Super Eagles in 2025 and guided the team to a third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Morocco.
In addition to managing the senior national team, he will now oversee Nigeria’s campaign to qualify the men’s U-23 side for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Nigeria has not featured in the men’s football tournament at the Olympics since the Rio 2016 edition.