Former head coach of the Super Falcons, Randy Waldrum, has raised fresh concerns over the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) handling of funds allegedly released by FIFA ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In a viral video circulating on X, Waldrum claimed that a reliable FIFA insider informed him that every participating nation received $960,000 in October 2022 to prepare their squads for the tournament. The sum, equivalent to about N1.4 billion at the time, was reportedly disbursed to the NFF to support the Super Falcons’ World Cup build-up. However, Waldrum alleged that despite receiving such a substantial amount, the football body failed to organise a proper training camp for the team before the World Cup and did not provide business-class flight tickets for players and officials. The American coach expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of accountability in Nigerian football administration, contrasting it with the United States, where officials are routinely questioned on how public resources are spent. Waldrum also revealed that he was forced to work with only seven technical staff members, even though FIFA was responsible for paying staff bonuses. He said the team arrived at the World Cup without an analyst or scout, leaving crucial preparatory work undone. “I have a real close contact here in the US that is very connected with some of the board at FIFA,” Waldrum said. “This person told me that in October, every country was given $960,000 from FIFA to prepare for the World Cup. If Nigeria got that money, why didn’t we have a camp in November? We went to Japan, flew in, played the game, and went home. We wasted the last five days of that window to train.” He added that FIFA also provides financial assistance to federations that cannot afford business-class tickets, with the cost deducted from World Cup earnings afterward. “So there’s no excuse to say we didn’t have money to buy tickets and then we didn’t have camps,” he said. “In the US, they would ask questions. The US Soccer Federation would have to answer for this.” Waldrum further criticised the NFF for underutilising FIFA’s provision to register up to 22 technical staff members for the tournament. “FIFA will pay bonuses for up to 22 people. Why don’t we have 22 people? I don’t have an analyst. I scout myself. The US has a scout in Europe watching games in case they face those teams at the World Cup,” he said. “We don’t even have scouts going with us to Australia. If we get out of our group, I don’t have anybody to scout games in other groups. Everything I do is on video and whatever I can find online.” Despite the limitations, the Super Falcons put up an impressive showing at the World Cup, reaching the Round of 16 before losing to England on penalties.
Where is the $960,000 FIFA gave us for preparation, Waldrum questions NFF
