By Dayo Awoniyi
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the list of match officials for the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), and once again, no Nigerian referee has been selected—extending a concerning trend of non-representation on the continental stage.
Despite regular participation in CAF’s refereeing development programs, Nigerian officials failed to make the cut among the 75 selected for the tournament, which is scheduled to take place from August 2 to 30, 2025.
The final list comprises 26 centre referees, 26 assistant referees, 18 Video Match Officials (VMOs), and 5 referee instructors. Yet none of them will come from Nigeria, a country widely regarded as one of Africa’s football powerhouses.
This latest omission adds to a growing pattern. During the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire, no Nigerian match official was included, prompting criticism from analysts and stakeholders within Nigerian football.
The continued absence of Nigerian referees in high-profile CAF tournaments raises serious questions about the country’s standing within the continental refereeing hierarchy. In contrast, nations like Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria continue to produce officials who regularly feature in CAF and FIFA assignments.
Stakeholders have called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s refereeing structure to improve standards and restore confidence at both domestic and international levels.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
