Former chairman of the Gombe State Football Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, has warned Nigerian football authorities not to agree to what he called excessive demands from Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle.
Recent reports claimed that Chelle submitted 19 conditions to continue as Nigeria’s coach, including a salary rise from €50,000 to €130,000 per month.
The issue comes only weeks after Chelle led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The Malian coach was given the task of reaching the final after Nigeria finished second at the previous AFCON.
Although the Super Eagles did not reach the final, they impressed many fans with their attacking football. Nigeria scored 14 goals, the highest in the tournament, and lost on penalties to host nation Morocco in the semi-finals.
After the tournament, the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Sports Commission said they were open to keeping Chelle and discussing a new contract. However, talks about better terms have caused debate among football stakeholders.
Gara-Gombe criticised the reported demands and said Nigeria should not feel pressured.
“I don’t think it is okay. This man just came to Nigeria to boost his CV. I said it before that Super Eagles is too big for Chelle,” Gara-Gombe told The Guardian.
“The Super Eagles raised Chelle to the global stage, not him raising the team, and he now wants to blackmail us.”
He also dismissed reports linking Chelle with European clubs such as Olympique Marseille.
“It is so obvious now that Chelle just created a phantom story around Olympique Marseille that they were after his service. We are not fools. I read the demands, they are ridiculous.
If he wants to go, let him go. I have not seen any impact he made on the Super Eagles.”
Gara-Gombe added that the team’s success was due to the players, not the coach.
“Chelle is just lucky we are winning games because of the players’ brilliance, not because of his impact.
We have polished him as a coach, and now he wants to blackmail us. If we retain this man for this amount, Nigeria will regret it.”
Before taking the Nigeria job, Chelle managed Mali and led them to the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFCON. He also worked mainly with lower-division clubs in France and is now reportedly being linked with a possible move to FC Nantes in Ligue 1.
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