By Daily Sports Nigeria on December 6, 2024

Super Falcons coach, Justin Madugu, in this interview with ABIODUN ADEWALE, shares his goals with the women’s national team

You’ve always been around the Nigeria women’s national team. How has been your journey as a coach?

I started my coaching career at the grassroots and around 2007, I became the assistant coach of the Falconents. At different points since then, I have also worked as the Flamingos assistant coach even while I was a technical adviser at Adamawa United, Adamawa Queens and FC Taraba. I also worked as the assistant coach of the home-based Super Eagles between 2009 and 2010. Along the line, I also acquired more certifications in coaching and even some management courses.

What are the proponents you believe in as the coach of the Super Falcons?

I’m a passion-driven, player-centred and holistic developmental coach with optimism, positivity, teamwork and respect for all. I believe in the integration of home-based players and their foreign counterparts to project our local NWFL in a good light. I like to create opportunities with positive impacts on our local league, players and teams as we strive to regain our No. 1 status in Africa and to compete effectively with the best in the world.

How does your experience as a footballer influence your coaching decisions?

It gives me a better understanding of what the players can do and their feelings about all that we strive to achieve. So, I put myself in their shoes, I see things from their point of view and that way, we compromise and make sacrifices when necessary. It’s all about results and our goal as a team is at the centre of this.

What inspired you to transition from playing to coaching, and specifically, to focus on women’s football?

The potential of the youth players I was working with and my desire to give them a better picture through sports informed sacrificing my playing career for coaching. I also saw the challenges of coaching women and changing the mindset and perception of parents and the community about women’s participation in sports. So, these things informed my decision and motivation to change the wrong narrative about women in sports.

You recently led the Super Falcons in three friendly matches. The first was with five foreign-based players and other home based in two friendly games against Algeria, how do you rank that performance, bearing in mind that a number of our regulars were not involved?

It was a good performance by particularly some of the home-based players who lived up to expectations considering the quality of players Algeria came with (about 16 professionals from top French clubs, Brazil, America and Saudi Arabia).

Several regulars returned for the France friendly, reducing the number of home-based players. Will that be the end of that incorporation?

No, that is not the end. I will maintain the injection of NWFL players into the team as we discover more quality and potential players in the local scene. We would have seen quite a few of them for the game against France if not for Edo Queens’ participation in the CAF Women’s Champions League, the number would have been higher. At the same time, there were insinuations that we were facing out or snubbing some foreign-based players as well, that is not correct. We don’t have any reason to snub anyone, they are all Nigerians. We have extended invitations to some of them and they had one or two challenges which they made us see. Subsequently, they will be part of our programme.

How do you assess the friendly against France?

Although we had barely two training sessions before the game, however, we ensured that we prepared the team mostly from the psychological and tactical aspects. Despite the 2-1 defeat, it was a good game that showed the work we have in progress. We will continue to improve in different areas.

The draw for the next WAFCON tournament has been made. We will be facing Tunisia, Algeria and Botswana. Are you excited that we avoided our rivals at least in the group stage?

When you say rivals, I believe all three teams in our group are our rivals. I know you mean South Africa and Zambia but it’s a tournament and we can still play anybody as we progress. So, as it is, our mind is on the group stage. We know our opponents and commenced work on gathering sufficient information about our opponents for necessary action plans, which we know they too will do.

It’s been six years since we last won the WAFCON and the popular opinion now is that other countries have caught up with us. How are we plotting to take our number one spot in Africa at the next tournament?

Don’t worry, one step at a time, we are on course. God willing and that is one of our objectives.

So, what are your short-term and long-term goals with the Super Falcons?

My goal is to do well with the team, build a solid lasting team that will regain our top spot, play football with passion, develop players and win the 2025 WAFCON as short-term goals. In the long run, we want to dominate and compete effectively with respect at the global stage to be rated highly.

Other local coaches have been very successful with the Falcons, how do you envision the team’s future, and what legacy do you hope to leave, just like other Nigerian coaches that have handled the team?

Let’s be patient, cross the first hurdle and we’ll talk about the next level.

We made a lot of progress at the World Cup in 2023, do you think we dropped the bar at the last Olympics?

The team did their best, but unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as planned.

As the coach of Africa’s most successful national team (men or women), what challenges and pressures do you face in a fast-developing female football community on the continent?

Every job comes with its challenges and pressures and we face them squarely to deal with them as they occur.

How can African football associations and governments better support women’s football development?

Source Punch Ng

Posted December 6, 2024

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