PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
In a recent podcast interview with ‘On The Whistle’ podcast. Randy Waldrum, the Head Coach of the Nigeria national women’s football team, the Super Falcons, shone a light on the deep-seated issues plaguing the Nigeria Football Federation.
Waldrum expressed his frustration over the poor preparations of the Super Falcons leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is jointly staged in Australia and New Zealand.
As the University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer head coach, he unveiled the ill-treatment he and the players faced during their campaign in last year’s African Women’s Champion (WAFCON).
Waldrum said he was owed 14 months salary until three weeks ago when the NFF paid for seven months.
He said some players are owed “per diem and bonuses” from two years ago, Per Second News reports.
“Up until about three weeks ago, I had been owed 14 months’ salary, and then they paid seven months salary,” the American said.
“Before that, a year and a half to two years, I had been owed for months before I was paid a little bit of it. Starting July, I’ll be eight months behind in salary.
“We still have players that haven’t been paid since two years ago when we played the summer series in the USA. It’s a travesty.”
Waldrum also claimed that FIFA had disbursed $960,000 to all the teams that qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to prepare for the tournament.
The coach demanded accountability from the NFF regarding the money that was meant to fund the Falcons’ preparation for the World Cup.
“I have a close contact in the US that is very connected to some of the boards at FIFA, and this person told me that in October, every country was given $960,000 from FIFA to prepare for the World Cup. Where’s the money?” he said.
“If we had that money, why did we not build a camp in November?”, he asked.
Waldrum also claimed that FIFA had disbursed $960,000 to all the teams that qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to prepare for the tournament.
The coach demanded accountability from the NFF regarding the money that was meant to fund the Falcons’ preparation for the World Cup.
“I have a close contact in the US that is very connected to some of the boards at FIFA, and this person told me that in October, every country was given $960,000 from FIFA to prepare for the World Cup. Where’s the money?” he said.
“If we had that money, why did we not build a camp in November?
“FIFA allows your staff to have up to 22 people, but we have only 11. We don’t have scouts to watch the teams in our group or potential opponents.
“In the two-and-a-half years that I’ve been here, I have never had one time that the federation came to me and asked, “What do you need, coach?”
Despite the difficulties, Waldrum explained that the dedication and sacrifices made by the players are what keep him motivated in the face of adversity. He emphasised that the players deserve better and vowed to continue fighting on their behalf.
He said: “I guess the bottom line is these players deserve more. They deserve better. You know, and at the end of the day, that’s what keeps me going, the players. Otherwise, I would have walked away from this a long time ago. You know, but it’s just that you see the players and what they give up and what little they have and understanding that every dollar that they can get is important to them. You know, it just makes you want to fight and continue on for those players.”
Waldrum also disclosed how goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi was expelled from the team for demanding for the team to be paid bonuses.
He reported: “After the loss in Morocco (WAFCON 2022), the players hadn’t been paid and so they boycotted training before the match against Zambia.
“My backup goalkeeper (Tochukwu Oluehi) spoke to the federation about not getting paid and they didn’t like how she spoke and so they dismissed her from the national team. Eventually they 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, has never been in one of our camps. I said no, that my contract says I pick my teams, so they retaliated that I can’t take my assistant coach (Lauren Gregg).”
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