At the third edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in USA, the Super Falcons, led by coach Ismaila Mabo, made history by hitting the quarterfinal and narrowly missed the semifinal ticket to Brazil. The record still stands today.
Waldrum stated that the caliber of talented players in the Nigeria squad then till this moment was the driving force behind his quest to coach the Super Falcons. He declared that getting the chance to handle the Super Falcons would give him the opportunity to groom and discover more talented female footballers in Nigeria. He stated that the target to make Nigeria among the top nations at the World Cup is achievable if relevant structures and programmes are put in place to revamp the female team.
“My dream to coach the Super Falcons started in 1999 when I saw the girls of that era play quality football at the USA’99 World Cup. With my relationship with coach Sam Okpodu who was in a coaching programme with me, I got to know more about the Super Falcons. With quality programmes and a viable process to discover more talents from the grassroots, I think Nigeria will be a force to reckon with in female football globally.
“I am happy to work with the NFF board led by Amaju Pinnick, and I will do my best to transform the Super Falcons to a top-class team,” he said.
The Super Falcons is currently taking part in the Turkish women’s Invitational Cup in Antalya. Nigeria won its opening game against CSKA Moscow women team on Thursday.
