Chelle gets U-23 Eagles assistant coaches News

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Chelle gets U-23 Eagles assistant coaches

By Daily Sports Nigeria on September 2, 2026

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle will be assisted by Ikorodu City coach Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega as he prepares to lead the Olympic Eagles into the qualifiers for the men’s football event of the 2028 Olympic Games, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Chelle was seconded to handle the U-23 team in June following renewed contract talks with the Nigeria Football Federation.

According to a statement released by the National Sports Commission on Tuesday, Chelle said Ortega and Ozebagbe are some of the brightest young coaches in Nigeria, with very impressive profiles, adding that he was happy to work with them in the Olympic team.

Ozebagbe is currently the technical adviser of Nigeria Premier Football League side Ikorodu City, who narrowly missed out on a continental ticket on the final day of last season, while Ortega is a UEFA-licensed coach trained by the Scottish Football Association.

Ortega is currently one of the assistant coaches with the Nigeria Flying Eagles.

The statement added that Chelle and his technical crew would open camp soon in Abuja ahead of the team’s qualifiers.

The Franco-Malian coach has been given the mandate to lead Nigeria back to the men’s football event of the Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years, with the process beginning with the qualifiers for the 2027 U-23 AFCON in November.

Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles will face either Mauritania or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round of the 2027 U-23 AFCON qualifiers after receiving a bye into the stage.

The draw was held in Cairo, Egypt, last Tuesday, with Nigeria among 14 nations given a bye into the second round based on their performances in the last three editions of the competition.

Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo will meet in the first round, with the winner advancing to face Nigeria.

The first-round ties are scheduled for September 28 and October 6, while Nigeria’s second-round fixtures will be played on November 9 and 17, with the Olympic Eagles playing the first leg away from home.

If Nigeria progress, they will face the winner of the tie involving Burkina Faso and either Sierra Leone or Zambia in the third and final round, scheduled for March 22-30, 2027.

Seven teams will qualify for the finals alongside hosts Egypt, with the eight-team tournament also serving as Africa’s qualifying competition for the men’s football event at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Source Punch Ng

Posted September 2, 2026