A former Super Falcons’ assistant coach, Mansur Abdullahi, has said the time has come for drastic changes to be made in the present squad of the Super Falcons. The former Flamingoes assistant coach told Trust Sports that the September 21 embarrassing defeat inflicted on the nine-time African champions by Bayana Bayana of South Africa in the finals of the Aisha Buhari Cup showed clearly that some players no longer have business in the team. The assistant secretary of Nigeria Football coaches Association and vice-chairman of FCT coaches also spoke on the way out of the doldrums for the Super Falcons.
How disappointed were you with the performance of the Super Falcons in the maiden Aisha Buhari Cup?
It was kind of a mixed feeling for me. On one hand, I can say I was disappointed. On the other hand, I wasn’t disappointed. And these are my reasons. If I say I was not disappointed, it is because before now, I knew that every female national team is improving every day. I think that was exactly what gave the Bayana Bayana victory over the Super Falcons. The South Africans are no longer looking at their past glories. Unlike Nigeria, they are not living in the past. And if you remember, in my earlier interview with you, I said the appointment of Randy Waldrum was a big mistake. I asked to be told what he is going to do that has not been done by Nigerians who handled the team in the past. I said he won’t make any difference. Today, I am vindicated. It was shameful that we lost the inaugural edition of the tournament.
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In concrete terms what would you say was responsible for the defeat?
Honestly, most of the Super Falcons players have no business being in the team. Almost all of them have tired legs. They have overstayed their welcome. With due respect to a player like Onome Ebi, she has no business in that team. At over 38 years, what is she doing in the team? She is not alone. There are so many old players in the Super Falcons. Apart from becoming complacent, most of them no longer have the strength to battle younger opponents. We have never lost to Bayana Bayana even in South Africa. It is, therefore, a huge disappointment that they came and defeated us here in Nigeria. 11 years ago, I said the same thing that some players are not supposed to be in the team. Unfortunately, the same players I talked about are the same players playing for the Super Falcons after a decade. Are we making any progress? I will say no. It is high time we overhauled the team.
Would you say there are enough players who can immediately replace these ‘tired’ players you are talking about?
Nigeria is blessed with so many talented players. Some of our best legs are not even playing professional football abroad. I am surprised that some of the girls who represented Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in France are not playing for the Super Falcons. What is going on? I can’t stop asking this question because it is obvious we are not doing what is right. Only one player, Gloria Ogbonna made it to the Super Falcons but she wasn’t the best in that France 2018 squad. It is time we stop this idea of automatic shirts for the foreign based players.
Earlier on, you were very critical of Waldrum. What exactly would you say is wrong with his appointment?
Let’s look at this critically. Is there anything he has achieved with the team that no indigenous coach has achieved? When local coaches were in charge of the team, South Africa didn’t beat us. This man was in the USA without a big job. He was coaching a college team, not even a club side which is close to a national team. College football is different from that of the national team. Is the coach willing to give more opportunities to home based players? We must give more opportunities to local players. Look at what Gift Monday did at the Aisha Buhari Cup. She is a local girl playing for FC Robo in the NWFL. They should throw the camp open for any quality player to come in and fight for short.
Would you say Nigeria gained anything by hosting the Aisha Buhari Cup?
For many, the tournament is beautiful nonsense but it indeed opened our eyes. Those who didn’t see the steady decline in the Super Falcons were hit by the naked truth. Had it been the thrashing happened in a World Cup qualifier, it would have been more disastrous. So I can say the tournament was a wakeup call. However, as an advocate for the girl-child, I would have been happier, if the money spent on hosting the tournament was channelled into empowering the girl child. Moreover, the tournament was organised in honour of the First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Aisha Buhari yet she was neither at the opening ceremony nor the closing. Was she committed to the competition? Maybe someone has an ulterior motive for using the First Lady’s name to organise the tournament. Look at how the women’s league is suffering, but look at how much was sunk into the tournament. I think we are not getting our priorities right.
Next for the Super Falcons is the 2022 AWCON qualifiers against perennial rivals, the Black Queens of Ghana. The Super Falcons have not opened camp. How worried are you?
I am a Nigerian and also a leading coach in Nigerian football. I am also the assistant secretary of Nigerian Football Coaches. If I tell you that I am not worried, I will be lying to you. Those in charge of the team are toying with the feelings and passion of Nigerians. We all saw what happened recently. It is not good that players are not in camp. Again, let me take you back to my earlier position that we must learn to depend less on foreign based players. Are we sure these foreign clubs will be willing to release the girls again soon after they came for the Aisha Buhari Cup? It will be foolhardy to continue to depend on these foreign based players. It is not easy for the clubs to continue to release their players. They may say we can’t release our players twice within a short period of time. I insist we must look inwards. Any moment from now, the Flying Officer’s Cup, a pre-season football tournament being sponsored by Barrister Paul Edeh’s Ratels Sports Foundation will kick off in Abuja. Some of the top NWFL clubs will be in attendance. It is an opportunity for handlers of the Super Falcons to come and scout for players. But I doubt very much if they will make use of this opportunity to discover the next Asisat Oshoala.
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