*Coach threatens to dump team over NFF’s interference, lack of support
*Federation replies American
*Waldrum worst coach ever, says Okobi
The Super Falcons are heady for a rocky FIFA Women World Cup campaign following the breakout of crisis in their camp only days before the start of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Concerns mount after the coach of the team Randy Waldrum accused the Nigeria Football Federation of not supporting the team, insisting that the former African champions have endured poor preparation ahead of the tournament.
Waldrum fired at the NFF during his interview on The Sounding Off Of Soccer podcast, hosted by John Krysinsky, threatening to walk out on the team days before the competition.
He also accused the NFF of trying to impose players on him which contravenes clauses in his contract.
“Here in the US we have fewer days than the college pre-season to get ready for the tournament,” the coach began. “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, 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.”
The NFF, through its head of media, Demola 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 federation insisted that it made no sense to commit resources to such programme when the coach has always overlooked the local players.
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,” Olajire said in a WhatsApp group for sports journalists.
The NFF said it suggested a locally-based goalkeeper to the coach because it aligned with their policy to groom young players.
The NFF then questioned the coach’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!”, he said.
Meanwhile, Okobi has described the coach 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.
