President, Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, says Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum will be handed a new deal, after his contract expired October 31, 2023.
Waldrum was appointed by the NFF in 2020 and led the Falcons to the semi-finals of the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco and the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the record African champions dazzled before bowing out on penalties to England in the round of 16.
Waldrum’s assistant Justin Madugu has been in charge of the squad on interim basis, leading to speculations that the American and the federation may have parted ways.
The NFF and Waldrum had been at daggers drawn after the American tacitly accused the federation of misappropriating the $960,000 FIFA grant meant for the Falcons World Cup preparation.
However, Gusau said the federation had reached an agreement with the coach for a contract extension following protracted talks, adding that the coach’s insistence on bringing his assistant, as well as improved allowances, delayed the process.
The NFF boss said the deal would now likely be sealed on Thursday, before the federation’s delegation travelled for the AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast.
“We had a lot of discussions with Waldrum and I think he’s agreed (to a contract). We had issues before the World Cup, about who he wanted in the team, but in the contract of NFF and Waldrum, there’s nowhere it is stated that Waldrum has the right to come with any assistant,” Gusau stated.
“During talks for a new contract, he brought up the woman’s issue, saying he wants her in the team but I told him we don’t want her because I know her condition.
“He talked about increment of his allowances and we said no. as far as I’m concerned, the Falcons didn’t surpass their highest level of performance at the World Cup, a quarter-final outing. So, he didn’t meet the parameter for us to negotiate a new allowance.
“That’s what took place before he finally agreed to go with us. By the grace of God, before we will leave for AFCON, the deal will be concluded.”