Sports
Gombe-Gara Rejects Chelle $130,000 monthly salary
Chelle, on Thursday, tabled new demands from the Federal Government for him to remain with the Super Eagles. Top on his demand is a house, car, 24-hour constant electricity supply, flight tickets for his wife and children and free hand to run the team.
For former Chairman of Gombe State Football Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, everything is wrong in Chelle’s new demand.
“I don’t think it is okay,” Gara-Gombe told The Guardian. “This man just came to Nigeria to boost his CV. I said it before that Super Eagles is too big for Chelle.
“The Super Eagles raised Chelle to the global stage not him raising the team, and he now wants to ‘blackmail’ us.
“With the players Nigeria have, we are even the ones to ask a coach like Eric Chelle to pay us ‘privileged fees’.
“It is so obvious now that Chelle just created a phantom story around Olympique Marseilles that they were after his service, and a few days after, his ridiculous demands came. We are not fools. I read the demands, they are ridiculous. While at the AFCON in Morocco, Chelle started his phantom story that Algeria wanted his services and the Olympique Marseilles story followed. If he wants to go, let him go. I have not seen any impact he made on the Super Eagles.”
Gara-Gombe added: “Chelle is just lucky we are tip toeing and winning Games because of the players’ brilliance, not because of his impact.
We have polished him as a Coach. We have turned him into reckoning and now he wants to ‘blackmail us. If we retain this man for this amount, Nigeria will regret it,” he stated.
Former Super Eagles midfielder, Edema Fuludu, agrees with Gara-Gombe.
Speaking with Tidesports source, Fuludu said: “I want to believe that people are behind his demands the Nigeria way. It is disheartening to know that a coach who came to Nigeria with a low profile pedigree and fortunate to have a pool of such quality players to prosecute games, got a bronze medal, has been celebrated as if he won the AFCON.
Why won’t he make unreasonable demands?
“We have come to the threshold of anything goes for our football. Let us invest in coaching education and make our home grown coaches by training and retraining, with financial encouragement in remuneration that commensurate what foreigners get for better performance.
“I think we should allow Chelle to go irrespective of the outcome of the World Cup protest against DR Congo,” Fuludu stated.
However, former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu, now a sports scientist, said the coach has the right to demand for any amount as wage or allowance.
“It is left to the NFF to decide whether he deserves such amount. Characteristically, we focus so much on going for competitions at all cost and not necessarily developing the national team professionally. You could see in his demands that he wants to be in complete control of the invitation and selection of the team without any interference.
“A forward looking organisation ought to have known whether we are retaining him or not depending on whether he met the objectives of the federation. The way he spelt out his demands showed that there is a problem with the running of the national team.
“We need to train our own coaches. We have enough retired footballers that we should be able to educate them scientifically to handle our national team players. My problem is not about his demands, but the NFF should tell us whether he is capable of building a befitting national team of our dream. Up till now the Federal govt turned deaf ears to the failure of the NFF despite the amount of money pumped into the training and development of the team for the World Cup. Everyone kept mute as if nothing happened,” Adelabu added.
An NFF official who pleaded anonymity, revealed that Chelle did not fulfil the main terms of the contract given to him by the NFF when he signed the contract to coach the Super Eagles last year.
“If Chelle wants to leave, he should come out boldly and tell the NFF instead of this outrageous demand of $130,000. Now, let me reveal the main two targets given to Chelle by the NFF when he signed the contract last year. First, he was told to qualify Nigeria for the 2026 World Cup and second, qualify the team for the final of 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco. Did he fulfil these two? The answer is no.”
His inability to qualify the Nigeria for the 2026 World Cup notwithstanding, some Nigerians are of the opinion that Chelle tried his best considering Super Eagles’ poor position before he took over.
The Bayelsa State government, yesterday, announced that the marathon will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2026.
The inaugural race is owned by the Bayelsa State Government and will be organised by Nilayo Sports Management Limited, a sports management company.
Under the theme “The Reveal,” the race represents a bold unveiling of Bayelsa’s immense human and cultural potential to the international community, inviting the world to witness the resilience, grit, and talent rooted in the heart of the Niger Delta.
According to the organisers, the race will be flagged off at 9:30 a.m., at the Opolo Roundabout, guiding participants through a carefully designed 10-kilometre route that highlights the scenic beauty and vibrant atmosphere of Yenagoa.
The course will culminate at Peace Park Square, where athletes will cross the finish line into a grand celebration of endurance, unity, and community spirit.
To elevate the experience for runners and spectators alike, the finish venue will host a high-energy post-race concert featuring performances from top A-list artistes, blending sport and entertainment in a festival-style atmosphere.
The organisers directed all registered participants to collect their race bibs and kits at the designated Peace Park Square between March 30 and April 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.
The race, according to them, is currently on track for World Athletics accreditation, underscoring the commitment of both the Bayelsa State Government and Nilayo Sports Management Limited to delivering an event that meets the highest global standards.
The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, on Friday continued the Commission’s nationwide appreciation tour with a visit to Abeokuta, where outstanding junior athlete, Majekodunmi Afusat Bisola, was presented with a cheque of N3 million.
The presentation forms part of the NSC’s initiative to recognise and reward exceptional junior athletes who distinguished themselves in 2025 and contributed significantly to Nigeria’s medal haul.
Majekodunmi delivered an impressive run of performances on the track. At the last edition of the National Sports Festival, she stormed to gold in the 400m and the 4x400m relay. She replicated the double triumph at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Junior Championship, in Abeokuta, before emerging as one of the standout stars at the African Youth Games in Luanda, Angola.
Speaking during the presentation, Olopade explained that the Commission deemed it necessary to extend financial appreciation to grassroots athletes after elite performers had earlier received grants running into thousands of dollars.
“A few weeks ago, after paying grants to our elite athletes, we agreed tthere was a need to also appreciate these young, budding talents who made Nigeria proud last year,” he said.
He disclosed that of the 376 medals recorded by Nigerian athletes in 2025, more than 200 were won by grassroots talents, underscoring the importance of sustained investment in youth development.
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