By Akinwale Kasali
With less than three weeks to the commencement of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, there is crisis in the camp of the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
The Super Falcons which is making its ninth appearance at the World fiesta since the inception of the tournament in 1991 is enmeshed in crisis as team Coach, Randy Waldrum, in a recent interview on The Sounding Off Of Soccer Podcast hosted by John Krysinsky, disclosed that the Management of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, is trying to impose players on him which contravenes clauses in his contract.
Waldrum has threatened to quit his position as the Coach of the Super Falcons if the NFF continues to interfere in his selection of players.
He had raised concerns over the preparedness of the team ahead of the World accusing the NFF of not supporting the team, insisting that the former African Champions has endured poor preparation ahead of the tournament.
In the interview with Krysinsky, Waldrum said:
“Here in the US we have fewer days than the college pre-season to get ready for the tournament. Since we didn’t have the camp in Nigeria for three weeks like we were supposed to, and then they wanted me to put this goalkeeper that I had never seen in my final roaster of 23 players.
“She has never been in one of our camps and I refused to do it. I said I would not take a player who has never been in camp, that’s ridiculous, who would do that? This is the World Cup. I argued with them and this went back and forth for a while and I came back and set my foot down and said my contract says I can pick my team and I’m not picking her. I’m taking the three goalkeepers that I had in camps over the last two years.
“In what looked like an immediate retaliation, they said you pick your team but you can’t take your assistant coach which is Lauren Greg here in the US and she’s my right-hand coach.
“She has won the World Cup, an Olympic gold medal, she’s an icon in soccer here and now they are not letting her go. For the last two weeks, I’ve been fighting this battle trying to get her back in; I emailed, texted, and called and they wouldn’t even take a message. They don’t want to deal with it anymore. We are not prepared properly on the field, we are not prepared with staffing because the assistants that are giving me are not capable of helping in a World Cup.
“I’m sitting here and I’m leaving on Sunday and I’ve been thinking if I need to go or not. The only thing that keeps me going is the players, it won’t be fair to not go. I have to help them because I have been working with them for two years. The flip side is that there is something wrong. I can’t take Lauren and I feel like I’m disappointing her if I go and she can’t go. It’s really put us in a bad spots.”
Waldrum stressed that the NFF expelled the second goalkeeper of the Super Falcons, Tochukwu Oluehi, for demanding for unpaid bonuses.
He said that following the expulsion of Oluehi by the NFF, he was compelled to add a home based- goalkeeper into the team despite the fact that he has not met the player before.
When he refused, the NFF made sure that his assistant will not go to the World Cup with him.
According to Waldrum, after the Super Falcons lost in Morocco (WAFCON 2022), the NFF refused to pay the players and for that reason, the players boycotted training before the match against Zambia.
Waldrum disclosed that the NFF expelled Tochukwu Oluehi because they said they did not like how she spoke to them about the bonuses and they insisted that they will only forgive her if he wrote a letter of apology to the NFF.
Reacting to the allegations leveled against it by Waldrum, the NFF, through its Head of Media, Ademola Olajire, fired back at the Coach, questioning his professionalism and competence.
The NFF said they overruled the idea of camping in Nigeria because of the Coach ’s indifference to players based in Nigeria.
The NFF said it insisted that it made no sense to commit resources to such programme when the coach has always overlooked the local players.
In a Statement by the NFF, it stated that the NFF felt it would make more sense for the 23 to go straight to Australia and camp for 15/16 days acclimatising to the weather and conditions.
The NFF said it suggested a locally-based goalkeeper to the coach because it aligned with their policy to groom young players, which Waldrum bluntly refused.
The NFF is questioning Waldrum’s competence, slamming his selection of players ahead of the tournament.
“Instead of admitting his glaring deficiencies, he’s there shooting his mouth off. He knows he will not have Rasheedat Ajibade and Halimatu Ayinde (two key players) for the opening match against Canada, yet he left out Ngozi Okobi and Regina Otu from the squad”, Olajire stated.
However, the exclusion of Ngozi Okobi and Regina Otu from the team that would hoist the Nation’s flag at the World showpiece does not augur well with Okobi, who has slammed Waldrum.
An angry Okobi described Coach Waldrum as the worst in the history of the Super Falcons. She said the coach is building a defence for himself in case the team failed at the World Cup.
“He is making excuses because he is most likely to fail in New Zealand and Australia. He is just looking for a way to call the attention of the public and make excuses because he knows he is going to fail.
“Forget about our differences he is the least coach that has been coaching for our country. Even our home-based coach that took us in 2015 is far better than him. He is the least coach, he doesn’t understand football and that is why our paths can’t cross because I understand him,” she said.
Waldrum had released the 23-Players that would prosecute Nigeria’s matches at the World Cup and they include; Francisca Ordega, Assiat Oshoala, Ashleigh Plumptre, Onome Ebi, Desire Oparanozie, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Rasheedat Ajibade, Uchenna Kanu, Christy Ucheibe and Gift Monday.
Others are Halimatu Ayinde, Ifeoma Onumonu, Toni Payne, Jennifer Echegini, Michelle Alozie, Yetunde Balogun, Deborah Abiodun, Rofiat Imuran, Osinachi Ohale, Ijeoma Okoronkwo and Tosin Demehin.
The Super Falcons will play against Canada on July 21 before facing Australia on July 27. They will end their group matches against the debutants, Republic of Ireland on July 31.
