Following Nigeria’s respectable performance at the last World Cup, almost beating finalists England in the last 16, the natural progression for the Super Falcons, the most successful national team in African football history with nine African titles, will be serious. Medal contenders at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
However, it is not certain that they will participate in the summer Games as one of Africa’s two representatives. Although Nigeria has never failed to qualify for the Women’s World Cup since its inception in 1991, qualifying for the Olympics has been a different fruit. It was the banana peel that the Falcons kept sliding on.
If they qualify for Paris, it will be their first appearance since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “As the most dominant team in African football, it is a real shame for us not to qualify for the Olympic Games for so long,” a key federation official told the Guardian.
“To be honest, the problem comes down to how we are, how the NFF is. [Nigeria Football Federation]He had mismanaged the team’s affairs over the years, particularly in the lead-up to the Olympic qualification, especially after playing in the World Cup the previous year. We always have disagreements over funding from World Cups, resulting in the team being disorganized and unfocused in the Olympic qualifiers. This is not acceptable.”
Relations between the NFF and American coach Randy Waldrum, who has been in charge of Nigeria since October 2020, are not smooth at all. Waldrum has been praised for his impressive work at the World Cup and told the Guardian he would like to see a new contract continue beyond last October.
However, although NFF president Ibrahim Gusau stated that an extension would be granted, Waldrum did not receive a new agreement until last month. In an explosive interview on the On The Whistle podcast just before the World Cup, Waldrum was harshly critical of the NFF on a range of issues and said he would have “quit it a long time ago” for the players.
In the two and a half months between signings, Waldrum, who also served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh women’s team, had no active involvement with the Falcons and focused on her commitments to U.S. college team competition. Conscious that the NFF, which he said owed him 14 months of wages before the World Cup, had an extremely poor record of paying salaries on time, Waldrum accepted it as a prerequisite to keep his job in Pittsburgh and to do so alongside international management. for staying.
Justin Madugu, one of Waldrum’s Nigerian assistants at the World Cup, took temporary charge, managing the Olympic qualifiers against Ethiopia. Waldrum will referee this month’s qualifiers against Nigeria’s arch-rivals Cameroon, with the first leg away next Monday, with a final qualifier tie awaiting the winners.
Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria’s four-time African player of the year and now a coach in Sweden, is dismayed by the continued failure to qualify for the Olympics. “There is no continuity in the system, both for the technical team and the players,” he says. “They need to be kept together to train and play friendlies for better understanding. “Players have very little time to prepare for a tournament as big as the Olympics… if you expect the best from the players, prepare better for the players and take care of them.”
Key Super Falcons players have withdrawn from the Olympic qualifiers for a variety of publicly disclosed reasons. At the heart of this appears to be a financial dispute with the NFF over unpaid money, some of which is said to extend into 2021. NFF said all outstanding payments will be made in August.
“Administrative failure [of the NFF] “To secure Randy Waldrum after the World Cup plunged the team into avoidable chaos,” said Nigerian women’s football expert Samuel Ahmadu. “Waldrum’s return will clearly result in a change in tactical coaching approach and fragmentation within the team’s ranks.”
Many blame Gusau for the lapse in the team’s momentum, saying he inexplicably delayed granting Waldrum a contract extension. But he insists the criticism is unfair.
“No one asked me why we had problems with the contract,” he told the Guardian. “The most important thing is that he is back and working.” Many questions posed to NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi remained unanswered.
Waldrum’s return will only take effect if Nigeria’s 16-year Olympic drought ends this summer. Cameroon is an issue to be fought over, this is far from certain.
talking points
Wafcon 2024: Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe told the Guardian that no date has yet been set for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) to be held in Morocco. It was impossible to stage the Olympic football tournament and Wafcon to be held in the summer at that time, and an agreement could not be reached with FIFA on a suitable date.
Women’s FA Cup: Manchester City will go to Tottenham in the quarter-finals after defeating Arsenal 1-0 in the fifth round. Other matches in Monday’s draw see Chelsea travel to Everton, Brighton host Manchester United and Liverpool host Leicester.
England gets a lift: Leah Williamson returns to Sarina Wiegman’s squad for the Lionesses’ friendly matches against Austria and Italy in Spain on February 23 and February 27 respectively.
Word of the Day
Expressing yourself as a coach is very important. Try to make sure that what you say is consistent with your attitude towards people. If you are passive aggressive or leave something unexplained, this is extremely detrimental to the team. What you say and how you say it matters” – Randy Waldrum, head coach of Nigeria.
Recommended viewing
Chelsea’s record January signing Mayra Ramírez produced a superb impromptu finish to win the FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Still want more?
Suzanne Wrack’s special report on the crisis in women’s football with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Authorities in Australia have claimed the country needs to spend $2.9bn (£1.5bn) on infrastructure to bring grassroots facilities to an acceptable level as the sport faces increased attention after the success of last year’s World Cup.