NRA wails as Caf name 85 referees for Afcon 2023 without a Nigerian

Once again, referees from Nigeria have been snubbed as the Confederation of African Football (Caf) releases the list of officials for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire in 2024

This was confirmed after the Caf published a list of officials for the tournament on their website.

A total of 32 center referees, 33 assistant referees, and 2 VAR officials were listed by Caf for the preparation course ahead of the showpiece.

In all 85 referees were named for a preparatory course ahead of the Afcon

At the last edition in Cameroon, Samuel Pwaduta was the only Nigerian list amongst the 31 assistant referees on duty while there was none in the 24-man list that were at the centre.

It was officials from Egypt and Algeria that dominated with the highest number of referees with three each while four VAR referees were selected from Mauritius, South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt. 

Seven technical instructors and physical trainers were from Zimbabwe, Burundi,  Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Morocco, and Djibouti.

At the 2019 edition in Egypt which had 26 referees and 31 assistants, no Nigerian referee was selected but Abel Baba made his cut as assistant referee in the 2017 edition while Peter Edibe was on the list at the 2015 and 2013 editions. 

In the last six editions, only three Nigerians have made the list, which speaks volumes of how little Nigerian referees count when it comes to reckoning with them for continental duties.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are among the 24 teams

that will compete for the 2023 Afcon title. Cote d’Ivoire will host the competition from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Referees Association has lamented the exclusion of Nigerian refs, saying it is working to reposition its officials for excellence on the continent.

NRA president, Sanni Zubair, said Nigerian referees would soon be considered for major competitions in Africa and the world.