The 67-year-old led the Super Falcons to the last 16 at the Women’s World Cup in August but the American has been missing in action since their elimination at the hands of England in Brisbane.
In his stead, Justin Madugu has taken caretaker charge of qualifying matches for next year’s Olympic Games and the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The messaging coming out of the NFF has been decidedly mixed, with successive communiques both affirming and denouncing his standing as Nigeria coach.
A particular bone of contention has been a sense of divided loyalties, as Waldrum combined the Nigeria job with working for the University of Pittsburgh, whose women’s team he also managed throughout his time with the West Africans.
“The coach appeared to prioritise his other commitments in the United States,” a top NFF official, who did not want to be named, told BBC Sport Africa.
“Managing a country like Nigeria should not be on a part-time basis.”
Waldrum had been expected to put in an appearance on the eve of the Olympic double-header against Ethiopia late last month, but it was Madugu who guided Nigeria to a 5-1 aggregate win over the East Africans.
He followed that up with a 5-0 win against Cape Verde in the first leg of their Women’s Nations Cup second-round qualifying tie in Abuja on Thursday.
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“He has contributed to my life positively.”
There have, however, been fallings out with the likes of forward Ngozi Okobi, who has played for the national side for over a decade but was axed from the World Cup squad.
With the ongoing lack of consensus within the leadership of Nigerian football, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Waldrum.
Madugu. who had been a member of the backroom staff since 2009, is set to oversee the second leg of the Women’s Nations Cup qualifier against Cape Verde on Tuesday, while Olympic qualifiers against Cameroon (19 and 28 February) lurk further on the horizon.
