NPFL: Nigeria Football Federation vows to improve referees’ welfare and security

President of Nigeria Football Federation Ibrahim Musa Gusau has reassured the leadership of Nigeria Referees Association, NRA on providing better welfare packages and conducive refereeing climate for match officials.

Gusau who spoke during a meeting between the NFF and the NRA in Abuja, pledged that apart from protection of referees, safety aparratus shall be put in place to avoid attacks on match officials at match venues.

The meeting comes up on the heels of the referees’ plan to boycott the 2022/2023 Nigerian Professional Football League earlier scheduled to start on December in protest for backlog of their three-year unpaid indemnities.

While appreciating the NRA for agreeing to attend the meeting, the NFF president stressed the need for strategic partnership between the two bodies to take nation’s biggest sport to greater height.

He disclosed further that the Federation has concluded arrangements to pay all backlogs of match indemnities owed referees on instalment basis while pleading with the NRA Leadership to allow the commencement of the new season based on that understanding and regular payments for the leagues.

The former Chairman of Zamfara State Football Association also announced increase of referees’ match indemnities to an acceptable standard just as he warned that heavy sanctions shall be handed to referees appointed for a matches and found wanting in the course of discharging his or her duties.

Earlier in a remark, the President of NRA, Tade Azeez said the meeting was timely as it allowed the association to brief the NFF numerous challenges facing Nigerian referees ranging from irregular payment of match Indemnities, security breakdown at match venues leading to attacks on referees, late release of match appointments to NRA members.

The NRA President, who was in the company of NRA Deputy President, Hon Sani Zubairu and Dr Suleiman Omezia, the Secretary General assured the NFF that his members are ready to do their best, as always for the progress of football

Other members of the NFF in the meeting were Head of Referees Appointment Committee, Alhaji Sherrif Inuwa Ahlan and the Secretary General of the Federation, Dr. Sanusi Mohammed as well as Dr. Aminu Shantali and Retired FIFA referee, Ibrahim Umar Fagge; Deputy National Training Officer and North West Zonal Coordinator respectively, including the chairman of Sokoto State Council, Bello Abubakar.