While the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) continues to keep fans in suspense over the contract situation of Randy Waldrum, some members of the Super Falcons have backed the American to remain as the head coach of the team.
Waldrum took over the Falcons job in 2020 after he signed a three-year deal with the federation, which ended 31 October.
In September, PUNCH Sports Extra reported that the NFF had begun contract renewal talks with Waldrum, who led the former African champions to a round of 16 finish at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in August.
During an Executive Committee meeting in Uyo in September, it was gathered that the federation officials were happy with the American gaffer’s performance at the World Cup and thus urged its Technical Committee to immediately reach out to Waldrum for the renewal of a new deal, a one-year contract.
In the same month, the NFF excluded the Falcons coaching job from its list of advertised vacant positions for the women’s national teams on its website. Only the head coach jobs for the U-17 and U-20 women’s teams were listed, a pointer that Waldrum was set to retain his coaching role with the Falcons.
Waldrum was not on the bench during the Falcons 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers against Ethiopia, with reports suggesting that he had a personal issue to attend to.
While they are yet to announce the departure of the coach, the NFF has equally kept mute on the continuity of the American.
Some members of the team that spoke on condition of anonymity, said they would love Waldrum to continue as the Falcons head coach.
A senior member of the team, a defender, said, “If it’s Super Eagles, they would have resolved the issue even before his contract was over. Why are they always treating the Falcons this way? At some point, they owed Waldrum about seven months’ salary, but the man didn’t complain. What else do they want? He took us to the World Cup and everyone can see that he is a good coach. Randy is the man for the job”.
A midfielder in the team also urged the federation to retain Waldrum.
“For continuity’s sake, I think he should be allowed to manage the squad, the players are used to him and understand his philosophy now. I think renewing his contract will make us more compact as a team. If a new coach comes in, the players will have to start adjusting to his style, which takes time”.
“If you ask me, I think Waldrum deserves to be handed a second chance to coach this team. He did a great job at the World Cup, we should build on that”, another squad member added.
In the last Women’s FIFA rankings released in August, the nine-time African champions moved up eight places from 40th to 32nd, following their impressive performance at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where they reached the knockout stage for the third time in the history of the competition.
