NFRA Sets Up Special Committee to Address Nigeria’s Absence from Elite Refereeing at AFCON, World Cup
The Nigeria Football Referees’ Association (NFRA) has inaugurated a Special Fact-Finding Committee to probe the prolonged non-inclusion of Nigerian referees in the Elite A Class of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA for major tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the FIFA World Cup.
Announcing the committee in line with the ‘Rediscover NFRA Agenda,’ Acting President Sir Kelechi Mejuobi charged the members to investigate why Nigeria has not produced a centre referee for AFCON or the World Cup since 2006, and why no assistant referee has been listed for AFCON in the last two editions.
The committee is chaired by Engr. Sir Emmanuel Imiere (FIFA RTD), Vice President 1 and Chairman of the Grading, Assessment and Exam Committee, with Olori Jumoke Adebisi-Odeniran (FIFA RTD), National Training Officer, serving as Vice Chairman.
Other members include Dr. Aminu Shantali, C.C. Chukwujekwu, Comrade Abel Baba, Felicia Okwugba, Peter Edibe, Hadiza Musa, and Sunday Okayi, while Col Nicholas Achikasim will serve as Secretary.
The body has been mandated to identify the reasons behind Nigeria’s absence from refereeing appointments at CAF and FIFA’s highest levels, assess the current status of Nigerian international referees, and recommend strategies to improve their ratings.
It is also expected to provide a roadmap that can be forwarded to relevant authorities to enable Nigeria produce Elite A Class referees for AFCON and World Cup tournaments, alongside policies that will reposition Nigerian referees internationally.
The committee has four weeks to submit its recommendations to the NFRA National Executive Council.
In a statement signed by National Publicity Secretary, Chukwudi Ejimofor, the NFRA expressed appreciation to the committee members for their anticipated cooperation and commitment, noting that their work is crucial to restoring Nigeria’s presence in global refereeing.
