By Bethel Kalu
Hesitant at first to watch the video doing the rounds by former Super Falcons Coach Randy Waldrum, due to my disinterest in his controversial records, I had a rethink but dug deep to unravel the truth.
This stemmed from his lacklustre coaching record with a team that had hitherto done remarkably well on the continent.
Waldrum’s tenure was marked by an all time low fourth-place finish at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, where we were roundly beaten by Morocco and Zambia. Same Zambia we later thrashed convincingly under our indigenous coach, Justin Madugu.
Since his departure, Waldrum has consistently spread misinformation on social media following his failed attempts to return. I was shocked to my marrow to discover that he had lobbied unsuccessfully hence taken to the public to air his grievances.
Notably, Nigeria’s pre-Waldrum coaching history boasts Florence Omagbemi, who won WAFCON in Cameroon and Thomas Denneby, who also lifted the trophy in Ghana.
Yet, their achievements did not invite the same level of public scrutiny or emotional outbursts as Waldrum’s who departed without a single title and is regarded the most unsuccessful coach in the history of Super Falcons’ WAFCON adventure.
Furthermore, my investigation discovered that Waldrum’s claims that he had no prior preparations before the World Cup are simply not true.
These are the documented preparations and friendly matches played by the Super Falcons en route to the tournament, highlighting their journey and build-up to the big event.
Friendly matches for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia:
- USA, August 2022
- Japan, October 2022
- Mexico, February 2023
In April, 2023, they embarked on a journey to Turkey for the following games:
- Nigeria 3 New Zealand 0
- Nigeria 2 Haiti 1
Training tour in Gold Coast, Australia from July 4 to 11, 2023
- Friendly match between Nigeria and Lions FC
Following the tour, the team relocated from Gold Coast to Brisbane on July 11 to join the FIFA camp.
2023 World Cup matches involving Super Falcons:
- Nigeria 0 Canada 0
- Australia 2 Nigeria 3
- Nigeria 0 Ireland 0
- England 0(4) Nigeria 0(2) pen
Before the World Cup in Australia, NFF hired for Waldrum a physical trainer/coach from the United Kingdom who was with the team in their camp up until their second round loss to England.
His presence and resource impact as attested to by the players contributed immensely to the two draws and one win in the group stage.