WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Nigeria pay gripes remain but players focused on World Cup says Waldrum
Nigeria head into the Women’s World Cup with pay disputes still festering but players have set aside their grievances to focus on their opener against Canada on Friday, coach Randy Waldrum said.
The ‘Super Falcons’ have won their last three friendlies against New Zealand, Haiti and Costa Rica but off the pitch they have been at loggerheads with the Nigerian football association over pay and conditions.
In a podcast earlier this month, American Waldrum said he was owed seven months’ wages and some of his players had not been paid in two years.
Nigerian media reported the team were considering boycotting matches at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but Waldrum said none of his players were opting out of selection for Canada in Melbourne on Friday.
“We’ll be there. All of that transpired before we came and I think the team, once we all arrived here, have just focused on Canada,” the American told Reuters after training on Wednesday.
“We met about it the first night we arrived and at that point we all just agreed not to continue to discuss it, not let it be out there and that we’re here to do a job.
“Let’s focus on that job and let the appropriate people handle it.”
Waldrum declined to provide details on his players’ complaints but was not confident they would be resolved by the end of the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament.
“I really don’t know. Coming from the U.S. and working with the federation, I found very quickly things happen at a very different pace than what you may be used to or what we may be used to in our culture,” he said.
The Nigeria Football Federation did not provide immediate comment.
Texan Waldrum, a former coach of U.S. team Houston Dash, praised his players for keeping their minds on the job as they look to reach the knockout rounds from one of the toughest groups, which includes hosts Australia and debutants Ireland.
“I’ve been pleased about it because this very easily could be weighing and be a burden on the team, but I haven’t seen that they’ve allowed that to happen,” he added.
“They’ve handled everything very professionally.
“I don’t think you’ll get any of the players commenting at all during the tournament about it.”
Pay complaints have overshadowed the leadup to the World Cup, with Olympic champions Canada and Euro 2022 holders England among a raft of teams wanting more from their federations.
Other sides have lamented a lack of resources to adequately prepare, including Jamaica, whose players resorted to crowdfunding to help cover costs.
Waldrum said Nigeria, 11-times Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions, had the means to make the World Cup’s knockout phase but home fans’ expectations that they should be at the top of women’s football were unrealistic.
“At some point there has got to become a realisation about all the things we do day-to-day with how the federation treats the players and how they provide resources for proper training, travel and all those issues,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean that Nigeria or any of the African nations at this World cup can’t achieve a lot and make a deep run.
“But if you want to be a top team year-in, year-out, you’ve obviously got to be willing to provide more resources.”
-Reuters
- * Five players sought asylum after being called ‘wartime traitors’
- * Australian Federal Police moved players to a safe location
- *Asylum offer remains open for other squad members
Australian police extracted five Iranian women soccer players from the team’s hotel before they were granted asylum, the interior minister said on Tuesday, as details of their escape from Iranian government minders emerged.
The five players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, sought protection after the team were branded “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing their national anthem before an Asian Cup match.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen attend a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, March 10, 2026. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas/via REUTERS
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran and Australian media reported the team had been accompanied by Iranian government officials who were controlling their movements.
Conversations with the players about seeking asylum had been ongoing for several days, Interior Minister Tony Burke told a press conference as he confirmed the women had been granted asylum in Australia.
The players granted asylum were Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali Alishah, Mona Hamoudi and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh – all in their early 30s – as well as 21-year-old Fatemeh Pasandideh.
MOVED TO SAFETY
The five players were moved to a safe location by the Australian Federal Police on Monday evening, where they remain under their protection, Burke said.
Even before their defection, Australia had deployed its own officers to protect the women.
“There’s been a good police presence at different points, and we just made sure that opportunity was there,” he said.
Once immigration officials completed the processing of the women’s humanitarian visas around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday (1530 GMT Monday), celebrations broke out among those present.
“Once everything had been signed off last night, there were lots of photos, lots of celebrating, and then a spontaneous outcry of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi’,” Burke said.
“These women are great athletes, great people, and they’re going to feel very much at home in Australia.”
TEAMMATES
Four of the players are teammates at the Bam Khatoon club, which has won the Iranian women’s championship a record 11 times and is where Ghanbari also played until she moved to Persepolis for this season.
Captain Ghanbari was suspended for several days in 2024 after her hijab, the head covering that all Iranian women players must wear, slipped off during a goal celebration in an Asian Champions League fixture.
Iran players pose prior to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast, Australia, March 8, 2026. Dave Hunt/AAP Image/via REUTERS
The 33-year-old striker, Iran’s record international goalscorer in the women’s game, was allowed to return to play only after she and Bam Khatoon issued apologies.
Ghanbari’s head scarf also slipped off her head several times during Iran’s final Asian Cup match against the Philippines on Sunday, when defeat ended their participation in the tournament.
Burke said the offer of asylum remained open for the other 21 members of the squad who were still at the Gold Coast hotel, though he said it was likely some would return home to Iran.
“These women have been weighing up an incredibly difficult decision,” he said.
-Reuters
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The Iranian soccer team sang and saluted their national anthem ahead of their final Women’s Asian Cup match against the Philippines on Sunday, six days after their decision to remain silent saw them labelled “wartime traitors” on state TV back home.
The Iranians, whose situation had become a cause celebre among human rights campaigners, will play no further part in the tournament after a 2-0 loss to the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium in the state of Queensland.
Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari told the post-match news conference that the team was keen to return home.
“We are very impatiently waiting to return,” she told reporters. “Personally, I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family.”
Some fans, who had waved the pre-1979 Iranian flag and booed the national anthem inside the ground, tried to prevent the team coach from leaving the stadium precinct, chanting “Save our girls!”.
Reza Pahlavi, an American-based opposition activist and son of the Shah of Iran who was deposed in the 1979 revolution, called on the Australian government to ensure the team’s safety and give them any needed support.
‘ONGOING THREAT’
“The members of the Iranian Women’s National Football Team are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic,” he posted on social media platform X.
“As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran.”
The team’s campaign in Australia started last weekend just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on their homeland, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The players declined to sing the anthem before their loss to South Korea in their tournament opener on March 2, a decision a commentator on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said showed a lack of patriotism and was the “pinnacle of dishonour”.
They did sing the anthem and saluted before their second defeat against the host nation on Thursday, sparking fears among Australian human rights campaigners that they had been coerced by government minders
A petition launched on Friday on the Change.org website urging Australia to give refuge to the team had gathered more than 51,000 signatures late on Sunday.
The petition called on Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to ensure the team did not depart Australia “while credible fears for their safety remain”.
Burke declined to comment on the petition via a spokesperson. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in televised remarks that she did not want to “get into commentary about the Iranian women’s team”.
“Obviously this is a regime that we know has brutally cracked down on its people,” she said.
Players union FIFPRO had previously called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA to uphold their human rights obligations and undertake all necessary steps to ensure the safety of Iran’s squad in the wake of the broadcast.
–Reuters
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Japan delivered a ruthless attacking display to thrash India 11-0 on Saturday and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup, while Taiwan secured their first win of the tournament with a narrow 1-0 victory over Vietnam in the other Group C match in Perth.
The Group C leaders, champions in 2014 and 2018, completely overwhelmed India at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, dominating possession and pinning their opponents deep inside their own half for most of the match. India failed to register a single shot as Japan’s relentless attack exposed the gulf in quality between the two sides.
Japan raced into an early lead in the fourth minute when Yuzuki Yamamoto curled in a superb opener before Yui Hasegawa added a second. Hinata Miyazawa then struck twice to extend the advantage, while Kiko Seike converted from the penalty spot to give Japan a commanding 5-0 lead at halftime.
Despite making three changes at the break, Japan showed no signs of easing off. Substitute Riko Ueki made an immediate impact, scoring twice within three minutes before completing her hat-trick in just 18 minutes after Maya Hijikata had also found the net.
Miyazawa rounded off the emphatic victory in the 81st minute to complete her own hat-trick, sealing an 11-0 scoreline that underlined Japan’s dominance as the highest-ranked team in Asia against an Indian side ranked 59 places below them.
Earlier in the day, Taiwan claimed their first victory of the tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Vietnam.
Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the first half with a well-taken header to give the three-time Asian champions the lead in a contest where clear chances were limited.
Vietnam, who reached the quarter-finals in the previous edition, pushed forward in search of an equaliser and registered nine attempts on goal. However, none were on target as Taiwan’s disciplined defence held firm to preserve their slender advantage until the final whistle.
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