NPFL Referee Usman Abubakar Earns PhD from University of Ilorin

A Grade One referee in the Nigeria Premier Football League and lecturer at the Kwara State College of Education, Oro, Usman Abubakar, has achieved a new academic milestone after earning a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Ilorin.

Abubakar, who is also a member of the Kwara State Football Referees Council and hails from Ilorin West Local Government Area, successfully completed a four-year doctoral programme comprising two years of coursework and two years of thesis research.

His PhD award was confirmed on Tuesday following the successful defence of his dissertation at the Department of Human Kinetics Education, University of Ilorin.

His research thesis is titled “Administrative and Socio-economic Factors as Predictors of Football Referees’ Performance in the Nigeria National League in North-Central States.”

The achievement adds to his growing profile as both an academic and a football official, reflecting a blend of sporting and scholarly excellence.