REVEALED - Eric Chelle appoints Assistant Coaches for Nigeria's Olympic Eagles
Who are the two assistant coaches appointed for Nigeria U-23 Olympic Eagles? Details here.
Ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Sports Commission have unveiled a new-look coaching crew for Nigeria's U-23 side, the Olympic Eagles.
In a memo released on Tuesday morning, the National Sports Commission announced that coaches Bright Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega have been selected by Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle to serve as his assistants with the Olympic Eagles.
Chelle, Super Eagles coach who now doubles as the country's U-23 head coach, believes the duo are among Nigeria's brightest young coaches and says he is delighted to have the opportunity to work with them at Olympic level.
Bright Ozebagbe currently serves as the Technical Adviser of Nigerian Premier Football League side Ikorodu City, who have narrowly missed out on continental qualification in back-to-back seasons after finishing fourth.
Under Ozebagbe, Ikorodu City have also won the Lagos FA Cup and reached the competition's final across the last two seasons.
Deniran Ortega, meanwhile, is a UEFA-licensed coach with the Scottish Football Association and currently works as one of Abdul Maikaba's assistants with Nigeria's U-20 Flying Eagles.
Ortega, an ex-footballer, began his coaching career as an assistant coach with Edinburgh City, where he was part of the team that won the Lowland League and secured promotion to the Scottish Professional Football League.
He has also worked as an assistant coach with Nigerian top-flight giants Enyimba FC of Aba, and head coach at Warri Wolves.
The Olympic Eagles have endured a lengthy absence from the Games.
Nigeria's last appearance at the Olympic men's football tournament came at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where the team won a bronze medal, but subsequently missed out on qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
AdemolaSports understands that Chelle has already briefed the leadership of the National Sports Commission on his plans and preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games, as the Olympic Eagles are expected to hold their first camp in November 2026
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