With barely a month to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Group D qualifiers between Nigeriaย ย andย ย Benin,ย ย the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) isย ย sharply dividedย ย over the choice ofย ย the new manager for the Super Eagles following the resignation of Finidi George on June 15.
NationSportย ย gatheredย ย that the NFF is finding it difficult toย ย make a final choice between French coachย ย ย Eric Chelle andย ย Belgian Tom Saintfiet for theย ย vacant position.
According to multiple sources,ย ย majorityย ย of the NFFโs board membersย ย haveย ย ย settled forย ย Chelle,ย ย the formerย ย Headย ย Coach ofย ย Mali due to his successful spell with theย ย West African side whereย ย he recordedย ย an impressiveย ย 79 percent winningย ย ratio.
However, some fraction of the body whoย ย has the backingย ย of an influential formerย ย NFF President, is angling forย ย Saintfiet, theย ย former Head coach ofย ย Gambia .
โChelle has a win ration of 79 per cent with the Mali national team. He has knowledge of African football and can take Eagles to the next level. We can also look at other top coaches around the world but certainly not Saintfiet,โย ย a source who is privy to theย ย discussionย ย stated. โIn 22 games as the coach of Mali, Chelle won 14 drew 5 and lost 3, scoring 36 goals and conceding 12 goals. โ
However, it was claimed that Saintfiet who led The Gambia to their first African Cup of Nations, reaching the quarterfinals has a lower goal percentage compared to Chelle and could compound the problem of the Super Eagles who has just 21 percent scoring ratio in the last one year.
Nigeria is drawn in Group D along with neighbouring Benin, Libya and Rwandaย ย for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament.
With the double header in Septemberย ย whereย ย Nigeria takes on Republic of Benin between September 2 and 6 at home and away toย ย Rwanda between September 6 and 9 ,the NFF will need to make a decision as quickly as possible.