NFF launches nationwide pre-season referees camp to improve officiating standards

By Dayo Awoniyi

In a decisive move to raise the standard of officiating in domestic football, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), through its Referees Development Committee, has announced the commencement of a nationwide pre-season training camp for referees ahead of the 2025/26 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.

The programme is scheduled to begin on August 1, 2025, in Abuja, and will serve as a mandatory refresher course and evaluation platform for match officials across the country.

According to sources within the committee, the camp will include comprehensive medical screenings, rigorous fitness drills, and classroom-based assessments to test referees’ knowledge of current FIFA laws and recent rule amendments.

Officials from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have been grouped into three tiers to ensure smooth implementation of the training regimen.

“The idea is to ensure that only the best and fittest officials are appointed for the new season,” said an official close to the planning process. “We are no longer treating refereeing as a side activity — it’s central to the credibility of our league.”

The initiative comes in response to persistent criticism over poor officiating in the NPFL, which many stakeholders believe has damaged the league’s integrity and international reputation.

The NFF is aiming to professionalize the officiating landscape through enhanced training, fitness standards, and accountability.

In addition to physical and theoretical testing, the camp will include simulation exercises, ethical conduct workshops, and the introduction of VAR-related protocols — a step toward eventual integration of video technology in Nigerian football.

The NFF sees this as a long-overdue investment in building a pool of elite match officials who can restore trust and fairness to the domestic game.

Samuel Ahmadu

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.

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