The Confederation of African Football (CAF) released the list of officials for the upcoming 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), and once again, no Nigerian referees were selected. Among the 65 match officials, centre referees, assistant referees, and VAR team, not a single Nigerian official appears on the roster
This is not the first time Nigerian referees have been overlooked. The exclusion continues a troubling pattern spanning both men’s and women’s competitions.
2024 AFCON (Ivory Coast), No Nigerian centre referees among the 32-man match-official squad, marking the fifth straight AFCON without a Nigerian centre official. 2023 AFCON, no Nigerian referees selected across centre, assistant, or VAR roles. 2023 Women’s Champions League in Morocco, Nigerian officials were excluded entirely. 2022 CHAN Algeria Nigerian referees were rejected despite initial shortlisting.
The Last Time a Nigerian Referee Featured at the AFCON was in 2015. Peter Edibi officiated at the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea. Since then, no Nigerian has taken charge as centre official, even up to and including 2024.
The last Nigerian to serve in CHAN was Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka, a pioneering female referee, who officiated in 2021 during the Cameroon edition .
Voices within the Nigerian Football Community are now urging urgent reforms to restore Nigeria’s presence in officiating at the continental level.
