Chelle Appoints Two Nigerian Assistants for Olympic Eagles, Begins LA 2028 Preparations

Oru Leonard 

Super Eagles Head Coach, Eric Chelle, has appointed Nigerian coaches Bright Osehai Ozebagbe and Deniran Ortega as his assistants for the Nigeria Olympic Eagles as preparations begin for qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Chelle, who also doubles as head coach of the Olympic Eagles, described Ozebagbe and Ortega as two of Nigeria’s promising young coaches, citing their impressive profiles and experience.

Ozebagbe is currently the Technical Adviser of Nigeria Premier Football League side Ikorodu City, which narrowly missed out on a continental ticket on the final day of last season.
Ortega, on his part, is a UEFA-licensed coach who received training from the Scottish Football Association. He is also currently serving as one of the assistant coaches of the Nigeria Flying Eagles.

Chelle has already briefed the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC) on his plans and strategy for securing Nigeria’s qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

The coach is expected to open a training camp in Abuja soon ahead of the Olympic Eagles’ qualifying matches scheduled for November 2026.

The NSC, which supervises Nigeria’s Olympic football teams, both male and female, is targeting not only qualification for the Games but also a podium finish in Los Angeles.

The appointment of Ozebagbe and Ortega is therefore expected to strengthen the technical team as Nigeria begins its long-term campaign to return to the Olympic football podium.

(Kola Daniel, SA Media to DG, NSC
September 1, 2026)