The Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) has launched the record of referees and officers chosen for the preparatory course forward of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled for December.
Nonetheless, conspicuously absent from the record are Nigerian referees — a growth that has raised contemporary issues concerning the state of officiating within the nation.
In response to an insider supply inside CAF, the exclusion stems primarily from a scarcity of enough VAR coaching and hands-on expertise, which has grow to be a key criterion for officiating at main CAF and FIFA competitions.
“One of many core necessities is a minimal of 25 hours of VAR coaching and apply. None of our referees at present meet that normal besides one or two — and even they lack adequate sensible publicity,” the supply revealed.
Past technical shortfalls, Nigeria’s referees additionally undergo from picture and notion challenges, largely fueled by home criticism.
The supply cited a Nigerian referee who had initially been shortlisted for the CHAN match was dropped after a petition was filed in opposition to him on moral grounds — one other setback for Nigeria’s credibility in continental officiating.
“We are able to’t preserve condemning our referees publicly and count on others to see them in a different way.”
” After we model them as corrupt or incompetent, it damages their worldwide popularity,” the supply added.
Observers say the West African Soccer Union (WAFU), particularly amongst Anglophone international locations, should make investments extra in referee training and VAR integration.
Whereas Francophone nations akin to Côte d’Ivoire have established structured VAR applications and competitions, Anglophone international locations, together with Nigeria, proceed to lag behind.
In distinction, Southern African (COSAFA) nations have developed sturdy VAR coaching techniques and ceaselessly collaborate with WAFU members to construct refereeing capability.
Regardless of Nigeria’s wealthy soccer heritage, no referee from the nation has officiated on the Africa Cup of Nations since 2019.
This worrying decline that requires pressing intervention from stakeholders, together with the Nigeria Soccer Federation and the media.
CAF named 101 referees throughout completely different international locations on the continent for preparatory course, scheduled for November 8–13 in Cairo, Egypt.
The preparatory course will function bodily health checks, technical assessments, and periods on the most recent refereeing applied sciences, together with VAR purposes.
Solely referees who efficiently full this system will likely be cleared to officiate on the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.
