Why CAF Shunned Nigerian Referees - Chukwujekwu
The Nigerian officials are missing on the list of match officials to officiate at the 32nd edition of the African Nations Cup, also known as Total AFCON 2019, which is to take place in Egypt.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) released the list of official from 32 African countries on Twitter Thursday, exempting Nigerian officials.
The officials are from Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, RD Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Niger, Sudan, Uganda, and Mozambique.
There is a total of 26 referees and 32 assistant referees to officiate the 32nd edition of the AFCON, the first-ever to have 24 African teams.
At the 31st edition of AFCON where Nigerian team did not qualify, a Nigerian official, Abel Baba was chosen as one of the match officials.
According to a former match referee, who is currently a FIFA and CAF referee instructor in Nigeria, Calistus Chukwujekwu, Nigerian referees failed their pre-match physical and match analysis test that should have enlisted them for this year’s tournaments.