CAF Excludes Nigerian Referees from AFCON 2025 Preparatory List, Stirring Concerns Locally

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has omitted Nigerian referees from the AFCON 2025 preparatory list, citing failure to meet selection standards. This decision has raised concerns within the Nigerian refereeing community.

Sanni Zubair, President of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), acknowledged that Nigerian officials did not meet CAF's criteria, focusing on physical fitness, theoretical assessment, experience, and video assistant refereeing (VAR) system. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been working to develop elite-level referees to meet CAF's requirements for top continental tournaments.

Despite having 30 FIFA-certified referees, only a few made the cut for the AFCON 2025 preparatory list.