Nigeria’s Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, has threatened to boycott the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand this month.
This coming ahead of the Super Falcons ppening game against Canada on July 21, 2023.
American coach Waldrum has been embroiled in a war of words with the Nigeria Football Federation for what he perceives as a lack of support.
The coach detailed difficulties he has had with the Super Falcons’ hierarchy, revealing disputes over match fees triggered a strike from training by players during last year’s African Cup of Nations.
Waldrum also claimed that he has been presented with an ultimatum to bring either a back-up goalkeeper he has never worked with or remove his assistant, Lauren Gregg, from the party travelling to Australia.
“At some point, it becomes about what’s right or wrong,” he said.
“There are the small stories of what’s gone on but it’s in a really bad place to be going to a World Cup. That’s to a point that I’m sitting here, supposed to go Sunday, but seriously thinking do I really need to go?
“I know we’re not prepared the way we need to be. I’ve been very frustrated with the federation and the lack of support.
“We were supposed to have a camp for 10 to 12 days in Nigeria before going to Australia for another 10 to 15 days, but the federation cancelled the camp.
“We have less days than a college preseason to prepare for the World Cup and it blows my mind because we’ve known about this since last year.
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“I’ve got issues with the federation but I’ve to look at it from a player’s standpoint. It wouldn’t be fair not to go and have one of the Nigerian assistants take them who would have no real idea how to help them. I’ve been working with them for the last two years.”
Waldrum provided an insight to a bizarre situation he found himself last year.
“After the semi-final defeat to Morocco at last year’s African Cup of Nations, the players hadn’t been paid so they boycotted training before the playoff against Zambia,” he said.
“My backup goalkeeper (Tochukwu Oluehi) spoke to the federation about not getting paid and they didn’t like how she spoke so they dismissed her from the national team. They eventually let her back only if she wrote an apology letter.
“They wanted me to pick a goalkeeper from Nigeria for the World Cup that I have never seen and has never been in one of our camps.
“I said ‘no’, that my contract says I pick my teams, so they retaliated and said that I can’t take my assistant coach, Lauren.
“She’s devastated. It would feel like I’d be betraying her by travelling. They’ve put us in a really bad spot.”
Nigeria will open their campaign at the tournament against co-hosts Australia at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on July 20, a fixture that all 83,000 tickets have been snapped up for.
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