Nigeria legend Udeze accuses Super Falcons coach Waldrum of ‘side hustle’ job

Former Nigeria defender Ifeanyi Udeze has accused Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum of taking the job as his ‘side hustle.’

Waldrum, who took over the Super Falcons reins in October 2020, also doubles up as the head coach of University of Pittsburgh Panthers women's team, but Udeze feels this does not show commitment to the national team.

“Nigeria national coaches living abroad and only coming home for their matches is wrong and it must stop,” said Udeze as reported by All Nigeria Soccer.

"As for the Super Falcons, so long Randy Waldrum does two jobs and in fact considers the Super Falcons job as his 'side hustle' he's not the ideal coach for the Nigeria women's national team,” added the retired defender, who managed 35 caps for the Super Eagles.

"In fact, it is the Super Falcons job that should be his number one and only job. A lot of things have been taken for granted in Nigeria and that is why these coaches behave the way they do. We need a coach who will take the Falcons as his main and only job."

Waldrum came under heavy criticism following Nigeria’s fourth-place finish at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations when the Super Falcons went to Morocco as the pre-tournament favourites.

However, they received a rude awaking when they lost 2-1 to eventual winners South Africa in their opening match and while they made it to the semi-finals and sealed a ticket to the World Cup, they missed out on the trophy, following a loss on post-match penalties to Morocco.

Hopes of clinching a bronze medal also went up in smoke when the West African lost 1-0 to Zambia in the third-place playoff.

Waldrum took over the Super Falcons three years after turning down the role following his appointment as the technical adviser and head coach of the Nigeria women's team ahead of the 2018 Wafcon qualifiers.

His next major assignment is the 2023 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia where Nigeria hope to do better than their Round of 16 exit in the 2019 edition.