Chelle gets U-23 Eagles assistant coaches

Eric Chelle will lead Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles into the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with Ikorodu City coach Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega as his assistants.

The National Sports Commission said Chelle described both coaches as among Nigeria’s brightest young coaching talents. Ozebagbe serves as technical adviser to Nigeria Premier Football League club Ikorodu City, while Ortega holds a UEFA coaching licence and works as an assistant with the Nigeria Flying Eagles.

Chelle took charge of the under-23 team in June after renewed contract discussions with the Nigeria Football Federation. His technical crew will open camp in Abuja ahead of the qualifiers. The Franco-Malian coach has been tasked with taking Nigeria back to the men’s football event at the Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years.

Nigeria received a bye into the second round of the 2027 U-23 AFCON qualifiers. It will face the winner of the first-round tie between Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Those matches are scheduled for September 28 and October 6, while Nigeria’s second-round games will take place on November 9 and 17, with the first leg away.

If Nigeria advances, it will meet the winner of Burkina Faso against either Sierra Leone or Zambia in the final qualifying round from March 22 to 30, 2027. Seven teams will join hosts Egypt in the finals. The eight-team tournament will also determine Africa’s qualifiers for the 2028 Olympic men’s football event in Los Angeles.

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Ortega and Ozebagbe are some of the brightest young coaches in Nigeria, with very impressive profiles, and I am happy to work with them in the Olympic team.