Chelle should pay for privilege to coach Osimhen, Lookman — Super Eagles coach accused of using Nigeria job to boost CV

Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, the former chairman of Gombe State’s football association, has reacted to the reports claiming that Eric Chelle was demanding a significant salary bump. He criticised Chelle’s alleged demands, accusing the Franco-Malian of using the Super Eagles as a career stepping stone.

Before the report on the alleged salary raise demands, Chelle had been linked with an exit from the Super Eagles job. He was linked to top European clubs like Marseille and Nigeria’s rivals in Africa, like Angola, Gabon and Tunisia.

Hence, in a recent interview, Gara-Gombe, who is currently serving as the Special Adviser on Strategy and Information Management to Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, believes that Chelle only took the Super Eagles job to boost his CV.

“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,” he said, per the Guardian.

“The Super Eagles raised Chelle to the global stage, not him raising the team, and he now wants to ‘blackmail' us. With the players Nigeria have, we are even the ones to ask a coach like Eric Chelle to pay us ‘privileged fees'.”

As Pulse Sports reported, Chelle has demanded a salary raise of $130,000 (approximately ₦174.2 million), nearly three times his current earnings, from the Nigeria Football Federation as a condition to remain head coach of the Super Eagles.

According to the reports, Chelle, who signed a two-year deal in January 2025 with an optional additional year, currently earns $50,000 per month. His new demand, which includes payments for his backroom staff, forms part of an alleged 19-point proposal formally submitted to the NFF.

However, the Nigeria Football Federation has since dismissed reports claiming that the Super Eagles coach demanded a $130,000 monthly salary and additional luxury benefits following AFCON 2025.