The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the performance of referees officiating domestic football leagues, following the exclusion of Nigerian match officials from the list of referees selected for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The federation’s position was contained in a communiqué issued after its Executive Committee meeting held in Abuja, where critical issues affecting Nigerian football were reviewed.

The 2025 AFCON is scheduled to take place in Morocco from Dec. 21, 2025, to Jan. 18, 2026.

According to the NFF, a comprehensive assessment of referees handling matches across all domestic leagues — the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nigeria National League (NNL), Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and Nationwide League One (NLO) — revealed widespread shortcomings.

“Following an assessment of the performance of referees handling matches in all the leagues, the Executive Committee expressed deep-seated disappointment with the scorecard of a great number of the officials.

“The committee warned that even sterner measures are on the way to curb the incidence of poor officiating, incompetence, collusion with club officials and bare-faced manipulation of matches to favour certain teams and interests,” the federation stated.

As part of disciplinary measures, the NFF Refereeing Development Committee suspended eight referees indefinitely from the NPFL, NNL and NWFL, barring them from officiating in all competitions to safeguard the integrity of the game.

NAN reports that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had, in October, selected 94 officials, instructors and assessors for the AFCON preparatory course, with no Nigerian included. The number was later reduced to 73 officials for the final tournament.

Investigations revealed that CAF’s selection was largely based on performance in fitness and theoretical examinations, while limited practical exposure to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system also played a major role in Nigeria’s exclusion.

Speaking on the development, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said the federation had advised relevant government authorities to equip stadiums across the country with VAR infrastructure.

“We don’t own the stadiums. The stadiums are owned by either the state governments or the Federal Government. So, we can only appeal to the owners of the stadiums to install them.

“We are also going to do our own and work hand-in-hand with them,” Sanusi said.

Reacting to the omission, President of the Nigeria Referees Association, Sanni Zubair, admitted that Nigerian referees failed to meet CAF’s requirements for the tournament.

He disclosed that Nigeria currently has only one elite referee eligible for consideration, who, however, did not pass the required tests.

“Being a FIFA referee does not automatically mean you are qualified. The only elite referee we have did not pass the test when they went for it,” Zubair said.

He explained that refereeing operates in different levels, with continuous assessments, courses and examinations conducted annually to enable progression.

“We have many FIFA referees. Once they pass the elite course tests, we will be back on track. That is what we are waiting for,” he added.

Meanwhile, a FIFA-badged referee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, maintained that Nigerian referees are capable of handling continental assignments and urged the NFF to intensify support for their development.

“Some countries have two or three elite referees; it is not that they are better. Apart from AFCON, our referees still get some CAF assignments.

“The NFF is trying by organising courses with CAF and FIFA instructors. What they need to do more is provide regular VAR practice and also play the necessary politics at the continental level,” he said.

The referee further stressed that while Nigerian officials undergo VAR training, the absence of the technology in domestic leagues limits practical experience.

“We go for training, but we don’t practise. We need to start using VAR,” he said.