Super Eagles boss Chelle picks two Nigerian coaches for U23 Olympics job
Retold by Oddsrama · 1 September 2026
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Eric Chelle is moving fast on his U23 assignment. The Super Eagles handler has named Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega as assistant coaches for Nigeria's Olympic Eagles project, tasked with steering the ship through qualifying for Los Angeles 2028. After the side crashed out of qualification for Paris 2024 — a painful 2-0 loss to Morocco in March 2023 — there's serious work to do.
Ozebagbe comes with solid domestic pedigree. He's coached at club level across Nigeria, including Union Bank, Staruf FC Lagos, and Barcelona Academy Lagos, where he held an elite coaching role before taking the Ikorodu City job in October 2022. Ortega brings international flavour, having worked in Scotland with Edinburgh City — where he helped win the Lowland League in consecutive seasons — before moving to Enyimba as assistant coach. More recently, he was confirmed as first assistant to Abdu Maikaba with the Flying Eagles (U20s) in May 2026. Together, they represent a mix of domestic nous and overseas experience.
Nigeria's Olympic football record tells a stark story: gold at Atlanta 1996, silver at Beijing 2008, bronze at Rio 2016. Since Rio, the team has missed two successive tournaments. That eight-year drought ends if Chelle and his backroom can rebuild competitive depth in the U23 space. Camp kicks off soon in Abuja, with qualifiers set for November 2026. Chelle is also expected to add a foreign scout and an additional foreign assistant, signalling an ambitious approach to get Nigeria back to the Olympics stage. How the Eagles perform in these qualifiers will give punters early form clues for betting purposes come the African qualifying tournaments.
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