Former chairman of Gombe FA, Gara Gombe, has labelled newly appointed Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle as an inexperienced coach.

The NFF’s Technical and Development Sub-Committee recommended Chelle for the vacant role during its meeting on January 2, 2025 in Abuja.

This recommendation was subsequently approved by the NFF Executive Committee on January 7, 2025.

Chelle, 47, is the former coach of the Malian national team and led them to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, where they lost 2-1 to the hosts.

He has also managed clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne, and MC Oran.

Speaking in an interview with Brila FM, Gombe noted that Chelle's appointment is a backward move for the team. He believes that the Malian has no major achievements and is virtually unknown.

"Who is Chelle? Who knows him? What was his antecedent? Nothing. For goodness sake, all this waiting since AFCON in Ivory Coast, and we cannot get a coach, he told Brila

"And we ended up now, after all these years, appointing a kindergarten coach to manage the world-class players that we have. It is really unfortunate."