It is obvious that Nigerians, especially those following the game of football, are sad. In fact, very sad and their unhappiness was due to the exclusion of their country men and women (football referees) from the 69 referee’s member list to officiate the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire slated to commence from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
For sure Nigerians are highly disappointed and to me, they ought to because their referees are exempted from the next Africa’s most glamourous football event. And that made it the subject of discussion in nearly every place where football followers convene.
Except my very self, many people castigated and given them various names simply because the Confederation of African Football, (CAF), snub them in its official list of the match officials for That means and indicated that our referees are not among the African referees listed from 19 countries for Africa’s most impressive competition.
Those listed for the competition include 26 center referees, 30 assistant referees, and 12 Video assistant referees (VAR) officials. And no Nigerian referee made it.
Countries like Morocco and Egypt led the pack with seven match officials each, while five Algerian officials also made the list.
In West Africa, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo got one representation each while the host nation Cote d’Ivoire has three of their men in black to serve as officials.
The Eastern countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan also have their men to officiate the event.
Other African countries that their referees will be in Cote d’Ivoire include DR Congo, South Africa, Gabon, Libya, Burundi, Rwanda, Mauritania, Tunisia, Mauritius, Cameroun, Mozambique, Djibouti, Madagascar and Sao Tome & P.
There is also an inclusion of a top Zambian female FIFA referee Diana Chikotesha in the list which many see as remarkable, laudable and commendable.
It is a fact that Nigeria is a football loving nation and the love of the game of football has been captivated in the hearts and minds of millions of football followers across the nation.
Because of this, many people are seeing the round leather game as been a unifying force in Nigeria,
Nigeria has in the past decades produced some of the Africa’s most gifted and endowed players but the sad antecedents of corruption and bad officiating in our local leagues has cast a shadow over Nigeria’s involvement in the sport which explained the omission of Nigerian referees from the previous and upcoming AFCON 2024.
It is on record that Nigerian referees have a long and illustrious history in the CAF and FIFA assignments with their capability and professional display on the field of play.
They have officiated at various levels of the game and their contributions to the development and promotion of African football cannot be unassuming.
With all these, Nigeria did not make the 69 referee’s member list by AFCON which is a source of concern to many Nigerians.
It is certain that the exclusion of Nigerian referees from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire has far-reaching implications for Nigerian football which everybody must worry about.
First of all, it is an indicator that the Nigerian referees are not up to the standards or good for international competitions.
Furthermore, the absence of Nigerian referees from a major tournament of this magnitude means fewer chances for them to pick up, raise and even mixed up with other top African referees, which in turn, will affect the quality of officiating in our local leagues.
For sure, good refereeing which is essentially lacking in this country is always seen as the bad resultant effect of their doom and consequently affecting the development of the progress of the game in Nigeria.
To me, the omission of Nigerian referees from officiating in AFCON 2024 is a matter of serious concern for all of us in the country because it is a pointer that something is seriously wrong with our football, especially the officiating which the referees provided.
It is not just about representation, but about the impact on the development, quality, and perception of football within the country.
I see this as the time for Nigerian referees to come back to their senses by placing priority on professionalism and building trust.
I also see their exclusion from this prestigious tournament as a hindrance to the growth and the overall progress of the sport in Nigeria.
To arrest the recurrence of this sad and unfortunate situation, we must right all the wrongs that submerged our football officiating and ensure that good officiating thrives so that the greatest footballing nation in Africa must have a representation at the AFCON.
We must prioritize the welfare of referees so they will not become vulnerable to corruption and other sharp and evil practices.
This decision should serve as a wake-up call for all stakeholders in Nigerian football to invest in the development of referees and strive for greater representation in the future.
It is a fact that officiating at international tournaments like AFCON will provide Nigerian referees with helpful experience and exposure to different styles of play and officiating values.
The exposure is surely essential for the growth and development of our referees. It will help them to refine their skills and familiarize themselves to the ever-evolving nature of the game.
Thus, their omission in the forthcoming AFCON 2024 will no doubt deny Nigerian referees the chance to further enrich their competences, which will translate into the quality of refereeing in the Nigerian leagues.
Even though the president of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), Sani Zubairu, has reacted to the exclusion of Nigerian referees from next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition in Cote d’Ivoire, saying they remained upbeat that the issues will be resolved soonest.
The NRA boss was quoted saying, the association in collaboration with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was working toward resolving the issue and Nigerian referees would soon be considered for CAF and FIFA competitions. Which I wonder how?
Both the NFF and NRA should bury themselves in shame because what happened to the Nigerian referees is a slap on their faces and also a pointer that they are not doing what is expected.
I see the NFF and various state FA chairmen that constituted themselves as Alpha and Omega of Nigerian football as distraction and calamity to the game of football in Nigeria.
They are more and only interested in power and oversee trips to collect hard currencies leaving local leagues in disarray.
The same way they imposed themselves on us and occupied the positions of NFF boss and members was the same way all the others did as FA chairmen and members.
This is what made them always push their interest ahead of that of the country which impedes soccer development in the country.
And the truth of the matter is that all is not well with the Nigerians football and unless or until something positive is done, there is no way CAF and FIFA will be considering hiring the expertise of the Nigerian referees.
Referees or refereeing in Nigeria are synonymous to corruption. Any club that wins a match either home or away, must seek their assistance. That explained why our teams cannot go places in any CAF or sub regional competitions.
It is open that corruption and fraud has perpetuated our round leather game. Many people that have no business with the game are now not only into it but in its helms of affairs, the Federation and various Associations across the country are good examples.
I don’t see them as genuine and correct football stakeholders because none of them own a football club. And I wonder how many of them own one.
The truth of the matter is that only club owners will be at the federation likewise state FAs and local councils.
But in Nigeria, none of those parading themselves as NFF board members, state Football Association members or Local Councils members run or got a football team.
They are not true and genuine stakeholders, they are only there to milk the system and enrich themselves with public funds.
If one can look thoroughly at the NFF, how many of those parading themselves as NFF Board Members own a club? The simple answer is there is none.
If this is so, how do you think one with no genuine concern and interest for something will help that particular thing to grow?
These are the same set of people that occupy our various Football Associations nationwide and also the same people that aid corruption in the refereeing sector of our football.
This is why I don’t blame our referees for their woes but those managing the affairs of the game in states and the country as a whole.
Similarly, we are aware that nearly all those that ventured into refereeing in this country are there not to help develop the game but to get rich, own movable and immovable properties.
This is the main reason why no sane investors will come to this country and put their money into the sector. The sector is left on the shoulders of the state governments teams because it is not rewarding to run a team in this country.
That is not how the game of football is run anywhere in the world. And that also explained why our local leagues are not fully televised like that of Zambia, South Africa and other African nations.
There is no sector that corruption has not permeate in this country, it will therefore amount to a monumental injustice to make the referees sacrificial labs on their alter of corruption.
NFF itself is a fraud because it is hijacked by people who have no business to be there. They are not true stakeholders.
Finally, until we flush these set people out of NFF and state FAs, football will continue to suffer this type of disappointments.