By Habeebulah Tijani

Former Super Eagles player Sam Sodje has criticised the decision to have Eric Chelle manage both the Super Eagles and the national under-23 team, the Olympic Team. He warned that the arrangement will ultimately backfire.

The Olympic Team is currently in camp ahead of a qualifier next month against DR Congo, in the race for a place in the men’s football event at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.

Sodje, who spoke in an interview played on Brila Fm, said he cannot see the logic of the arrangement.

“I cannot imagine anywhere in the world where you have the same manager managing the national team and the Olympic team at the same time,” he said. “Especially in Nigeria right now, when the Super Eagles are struggling to qualify for the AFCON and he is not even doing too well.”

He stressed that the Olympic Team deserves full attention, recalling the 1996 squad, popularly known as the Dream Team. “We know how important the U23 side, the Olympic team, is. We are talking about the 1996 squad, the Dream Team, who gave us the joy of football. We want the best for Nigeria.”

Nigeria won gold at Atlanta 1996 and silver at Beijing 2008, making it the first African team to complete the set of Olympic medals. Rio 2016 was the last time the men’s team appeared at the Games.

Sodje also questioned Chelle’s decision to accept both jobs. “For a manager to even accept the job shows you how average he is,” he said. “We have so many young managers out there who can do the job.”

Chelle was appointed Super Eagles head coach in January 2025 and was handed a new contract and oversight of the under-23 side, the National Sports Commission announced. Since taking charge, he has led the Super Eagles to 16 wins, nine draws and two losses in 27 senior international matches. Those results include a World Cup playoff exit to DR Congo on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The Olympic Team’s next opponent is the same country.

With reports claiming the upcoming Olympic Team’s fixtures fall in the same window as the Super Eagles’ AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania, Sodje has called on the incoming Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board to separate the roles in order to forestall such scheduled clashes in the future.

“Hopefully the new NFF board comes in and sees how important it is to separate both jobs. He should not be juggling both the Super Eagles and the Olympic side. He should be concentrating on the Super Eagles at the moment. Regardless of the result, I think both jobs should be separated.”

He added that Nigerian supporters deserve better. “The supporters of Nigeria do deserve better. I wish them luck, and hopefully they will get the result we need. But it is definitely a ridiculous idea to have the same manager manage both the Super Eagles and the Olympic side.”