Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, has expressed his disappointment over the exclusion of Nigerian referees from the list of match officials to officiate the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) games in Côte D’Ivoire.
The 2023 AFCON kicks off from January 13 to February 11, 2024 with the list of 85 referees from about 25 countries listed, with none from Nigerian.
Reacting to the list of match officials released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday, the minister emphasized that considering Nigeria’s population and football history, this situation is unacceptable as it is now becoming a trend.
Enoh noted that this development calls for a reflection in the institutional setting of sports administion in the country.
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He promised to engage with all relevant stakeholders, such as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), to reverse the trend.
The last AFCON (2021), Nigeria had only one assistant referee listed amongst the match officials.
Egypt and Algeria, in North Africa, have three names listed in the centre referees list for the AFCON, followed by Morocco, Mauritania, and Mauritius, each with two.
Other nations on the list include Gabon, Ghana, Benin, Congo, Somalia, among others.
A total of 32 referees and 33 assistant referees were invited for the tournament.
The last time a Nigerian referee worked as the center referee in a Africa Cup Of Nations was in 2006, making it 18 straight years since a Nigerian referee officiated at the Nations Cup.
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