President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has dismissed reports linking Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle with a move away from the national team, insisting the Malian tactician remains fully committed to Nigeria.

Chelle guided the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), defeating Egypt 4–2 on penalties in the third-place playoff.

Despite missing out on the title, Nigeria impressed under his tutelage, finishing as the tournament’s highest goalscoring side and the only team not to lose a match in regulation time.

The coach’s strong showing at the biennial tournament sparked speculation over a possible move to Tunisia and other African teams, with one year still left on his contract with the NFF. 

However, Gusau has played down the rumours, stressing that Chelle is happy with the project in Nigeria.

In an interview with the Super Eagles media team made available to allnigeriasoccer.com, Gusau noted that Chelle remains under contract and is focused on his job with the Super Eagles.

"We still have a one-year contract with Eric and therefore whatever interest anybody will show in him, it still has to wait until his contract expires," Gusua said. 

He added that the federation has deliberately avoided distracting the coach, noting that Chelle enjoys working in Nigeria and believes strongly in the Super Eagles project.

"Basically we don't make some distractions on him because we quite well understand that he enjoys working with Nigeria," he explained. 

"It is not about whether a team is interested in him and it is not about whether he has gotten the result with the Super Eagles, so if he goes to the other team, despite the fact that they are going to give him more money, is he going to get the result?"

"It is not the issue. The issue there is did they have the material for him to work with to achieve what he wants to achieve?"

The NFF president emphasized that Chelle is driven more by the pursuit of success at the highest level than by financial incentives.

"The dream of every single coach is to make sure he achieves success, especially in higher tournaments.

"So, when you are saying I want the coach and we are going to look for the coach and we are going to pay him so so amount of money.

"It is not the issue of money but will he achieve what he wants to achieve in his career or is he just going there for the money?"

Gusau further revealed that Chelle believes he can achieve his coaching dreams with the Super Eagles and has expressed confidence in the quality of players at his disposal.

"So the key thing is that I know Coach Eric believes in the Super Eagles and he believes that he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve in his career when it comes to coaching, especially with the national team, within the African continent.

"He has so much belief in the Super Eagles and he has every confidence that he can achieve all his dreams with the Super Eagles."

Reaffirming the federation’s support, Gusau concluded by assuring Nigerians that Chelle remains an integral part of the Super Eagles setup.

"So that is the key thing that I believe in and I know we have discussed it several times with him."

"To us, we believe in him and when the time comes we will definitely let Nigerians know the way forward. But Eric is part of the Super Eagles."

With the clarification, Chelle will now switch focus to preparing the team to qualify and compete to win the next AFCON in 2027.

Adeyemi Adewale