CAF’s AFCON 2025 Referee List Exposes Nigeria’s Football Governance Failures

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released its list of match officials for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, and once again, Nigeria has been conspicuously snubbed.

Not a single Nigerian referee, assistant referee, or video match official made the cut, an indictment not just of the referees themselves, but of the entire football administration system in Nigeria.

This glaring omission is not a one-off. It’s part of a troubling pattern that reflects the deep-rooted dysfunction within Nigerian football governance. While countries like Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, and Mauritania each produced multiple referees for the tournament, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its footballing powerhouses, was left out entirely.

The implications are damning. Nigeria’s absence from the officiating roster suggests a lack of investment in referee development, poor training infrastructure, and a failure to meet CAF’s standards for technical competence and integrity.

It also raises questions about the credibility and transparency of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), whose leadership has long been accused of prioritizing politics over merit.

Despite the talent pool available in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), local referees continue to be overlooked for continental and global assignments.

Many insiders attribute this to the NFF’s inability to implement consistent referee assessment programs, its failure to protect referees from intimidation and corruption, and its general neglect of officiating as a pillar of football development.

This snub also reflects poorly on Nigeria’s international standing in football administration. If the country cannot produce match officials deemed fit for Africa’s biggest football event, how can it claim leadership in the sport? The exclusion is a wake up call that should jolt the NFF into action, but history suggests it won’t.

Instead of introspection and reform, Nigerian football authorities have often responded to such setbacks with denial, deflection, or silence.

Meanwhile, young referees with potential are left without mentorship, exposure, or pathways to grow. The result is a vicious cycle of mediocrity and missed opportunities.