Nigeria has been excluded once again from the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) list of referees selected for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), marking the country’s 19th consecutive year without representation at the continental tournament.
CAF announced that 33 centre referees, 36 assistant referees, and 11 video assistant referees (VARs) have been shortlisted for a preparatory training programme scheduled to hold in Cairo from November 8 to 13. However, none of the officials listed is from Nigeria.
The last time a Nigerian referee officiated at the AFCON was in 2006, when Emmanuel Imiere represented the country. Since then, Nigerian referees have failed to feature in CAF’s lineups — a trend many observers link to persistent challenges within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Football analysts and fans have voiced strong reactions on social media platform X, blaming the continued exclusion on what they describe as systemic neglect, poor training standards, and alleged corruption within Nigeria’s refereeing development structure.
CAF has reportedly attributed Nigeria’s prolonged absence to insufficient improvement in refereeing performance and failure to meet international standards.
The development has reignited calls for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s football administration, with stakeholders urging greater investment in referee training, certification, and accountability to restore the nation’s credibility and presence on Africa’s biggest football stage.
