Eric Chelle: One key problem Super Eagles coach faces ahead of Tanzania clash

Eric Chelle faces a scheduling headache in November, with Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles playing DR Congo on the same days as the Super Eagles’ AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Tanzania.

The former Mali coach is head coach of both teams. He named a 31-man, home-based squad this week for the Olympic Eagles’ 2027 U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against DR Congo, which opens a camp in Ijebu-Ode tomorrow.

According to the NFF, the first leg is on Friday, 13 November at the TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi.

The return leg is on Tuesday, 17 November at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne. Nigeria’s senior side, the Super Eagles, meanwhile, play Tanzania on 13 November in Uyo and on 17 November in Dar es Salaam, also according to the NFF.

That means two clashes, with both teams in action on the same day twice in a space of four days.

The NFF’s Communications department acknowledged that the U23 games fall within the same international window as the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, and the federation has not yet announced who will handle which team.

Why the Tanzania games cannot be sacrificed

The Super Eagles have little room for error in Group L. Guinea-Bissau lead with six points, Nigeria are second on three after beating Madagascar 2-1 and losing 3-0 in Bissau, and Tanzania have one.

Tanzania have already qualified as co-hosts, so only one place is available to the rest, and Nigeria need maximum points from the two games.

Chelle said after the Guinea-Bissau defeat that the Tanzania games were very important and that Nigeria had to win both.

Meanwhile, there are reports stating that a new contract covering both the Super Eagles and the Olympic team has not been signed by the Franco-Malian tactician.

Why the Olympic Eagles matter too

The U23 tie is not a side project. The winners over two legs go into the final qualifying round, and the U23 AFCON in Egypt is Africa’s route to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Nigeria missed the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 men’s tournaments, and last played at the Olympics at Rio 2016, where they won bronze, with Umar Sadiq and William Troost-Ekong in the squad that hoisted the Green and White flag in Brazil.

DR Congo are not an easy draw either. They beat Mauritania 2-1 on aggregate in the first round, including a 2-0 win in Lubumbashi, while Nigeria received a first-round bye. The first leg is away in Lubumbashi.

How Eric Chelle can handle it

The 48-year-old cannot be in Uyo and Lubumbashi on the same day, or in Dar es Salaam and Ikenne on the same night.

The most likely solution is that Chelle concentrates on the Super Eagles while his U23 assistants, including Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega, take charge of the Olympic Eagles. The NFF has not confirmed that arrangement.

That would protect the senior team’s qualification hopes, but it would leave a 31-man home-based squad in an away tie without the man who selected it.

Given how much both games matter, the federation would have to settle the coaching structure well before 13 November.