Nigerian football legend Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has reacted to the appointment of Eric Chelle as coach of the Super Eagles.

The former captain expressed his disapproval of the appointment by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), emphasizing that Nigeria's football cannot progress if it continues to be run by politicians.

Ex-captain Nwankwo Kanu also raised concerns about the appointment, joining other former players in attributing the country’s lack of success on the international stage to poor leadership in Nigerian football.

Okocha noted that the Super Eagles boast some of the best players in the world but have struggled to win titles due to bad administration and frequent changes of coaches.

Okocha said, via Guardian: “The Super Eagles may not win any trophy until the current NFF officials are dissolved or reformed.

“You can’t appoint politicians to manage football. They will turn it to politics and that’s what is happening today. "We have the best players in the world, yet we have no trophy to lay our hands, not because of the players, absolutely not.

“Changing of a coach isn’t just as it sounds to the ear. It’s harmful to the players, they will lose focus, except the players on their own demand for a better coach.

"Before you consider changing a coach, get some key players and interview them, seek their opinion because most of the players’ performance is based on the good relationship they share with their coach."

Official: Eric Sekou Chelle is the #37th coach of the 🦅@NGSuperEagles.#SoarSuperEagles #naija4thewin #letsdoitagain #ericchelle pic.twitter.com/zY97fdsVDY

— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 13, 2025