Nigeria referee quartet set for World Cup Qualifiers duties in Botswana

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Four Nigerian referees will be on the field of Francistown, Botswana for the Botswana’s clash with Somalia at the Fifa World Cup Qualifier.

Warming up for the game is the flagship of the country in officiating at the moment, Joseph Ogabor who is leading Usman Abdulmajeed Olaide, Mohammed Yakubu and Basheer Salisu.

Ogabor of the Cross River State Council will be at the center, Oyo State Usman and Yakubu of Bauchi are Assistant Referees 1 and 2 respectively. Basher will serve as the fourth official.

The Nigerian referee quartet will be assessed by Engono Nguema Eusobio of Equatorial Guinea.

The Match Commissioner is Mpito Tebalo comes from Lesotho.

This is cheering news for Nigerian referees after recent snips from officiating major tournaments on the continent.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) recently decorated new FIFA badged referees which is gradually yielding results.

Oluwaseun Oyediji

Oluwaseun Babatunde Oyediji is a multi-media sports journalist with over 10 years experience in Information Communication Technology (ICT), women's football, and beach soccer reportage.The prolific writer is the Media Assistant to Nigeria Beach Soccer League and Africa Beach Soccer Union as well as contributor on Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) website.He has covered multiple national and international football tournaments including Championship of African Nations (CHAN 2020), CAF Women's Champions League (2023), and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023).Since 2021, Oyediji has covered the NWFL Premiership especially the season ending Super Six Playoffs.A member of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ogun state chapter is also the image maker of the Remo Sports Development Council under the leadership of Chief Falilat Ogunkoya and David Osuolale.

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