AFCON 2023: ‘Why we don’t select Nigerian referees’ – CAF Head of Referees

Head of Refereeing at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Desire Noumandiez Doue, has revealed why Nigerian referees are not considered for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) duties.

The comments came on the heels of Nigeria referee absence from the continental showpiece since 2006 and the CAF official told media during a CAF referees training session at ASEC Mimosas Training Centre in Abidjan on Thursday.

However, Doue acknowledged the work of Nigerian referees and pointed out their lapses as he called for improvement, stressing that Nigeria has good referees for domestic and regional matches but reckon with the best.

“You have good referees in Nigeria, but this is our message to them, they need to come to the CAF competition, especially to the AFCON,” Doue told media.

“We don’t need good referees; good referees are for the MAs, and good referees are for the zone, in CAF we need the best, so Nigerian referees are good, but they can still improve if they need assistance.

“They need to do more to be among the best because the selection has been started for one year and a half, so we are in a continuous process of scouting, evaluating, and selecting.

“You know we have different stages; you start with young talent, then you go to elite B; after that, you proceed to elite A, then you go professional among the best, and it’s among the elite A we picked from AFCON.

“We are glad to hear the feedback about the success of VAR at AFCON because it’s not like this before, we are very happy but at the same time we know that this is for the moment as we need to keep the standard of our performance that is why we continue to work hard.”