National Teams
Paris 2024 Olympic: Randy Waldrum blames NFF for FIFA window blackout
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Ahead of this month’s Paris 2024 Olympics, the head coach of Nigeria’s senior women’s national team has blamed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for the team’s failure to utilize the last FIFA window.
Super Falcons opponents, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and other teams that will participate in the women’s football event of the Olympics utilized the last window to play friendly games except Nigeria. And the American in his latest outburst, put this failure on the NFF for some reason.
“I think it’s probably a Federation thing. I don’t know if it came down to finances or logistics,” Waldrum told Chris Tinius’ Tinman Podcast.
“Most of the teams scheduled games in Europe, the United States of America, Mexico. It’s not like the US where there is a window and get everything they need with the resources. It is not just that way in Africa. We don’t have those kinds of resources. We have to take advantage of the opportunities that we get.”
The University of Pittsburgh gaffer is looking forward to the possibility of making it out of a tough group given the challenges ahead of the Olympics.
“Which of those games do we think we need to put emphasis on and think we can get something out of at the Olympics.” He continued.
“Again also knowing that you going to need to utilize your roster. Almost pre-planned for the starting and substitution patterns. You have to pre-plan a little more because, at the World Cup, we had six or seven days between some of the games.
“It’s quite different and going to be challenging, especially with the small roster and shortness between the games.
“That’s the other bad part of it for that reason it has to be an injury to have the alternate players in the team. You have to plan due to injuries and don’t have that option of using them otherwise.”
He confirmed the team’s friendly match against Olympic Champions, Canada, and their arrival date in France.
“The plan is next week. We are scheduled to leave on Thursday. We are going to Spain for some days and we will play Canada in a friendly on the 17th of July in Spain. On the 18th we head to Bordeaux, France a few more days of camp before the opening game on the 25th.
“It’s the fast and furious. 23rd to the 31st to determine whether we will go to the next round. It’s an opportunity to get a few days to try to get the team organised and prepared. We were going to need it because we didn’t do anything in the last window. We were the only team who didn’t while the rest teams were playing games. For whatever reason we didn’t have any games. This camp in Spain will be really important to us and the players.
“Our first game in Bordeaux against Brazil and after that we will go to Nantes because our last two games will be played in Nantes.”
This will be the first time that the Super Falcons will be featuring at the Olympics since 2008 with their best result being a quarter-final finish in 2004 (Athens, Greece).
