Official: FIFA badge referee, Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka announces retirement

By Saheed Afolabi

FIFA badge referee, Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka has announced her retirement as a referee on Wednesday.

Announcing her retirement, Mimi as fondly called, expressed joy over her exciting 11 years refereeing experience.

“The beginning and the end. 11 years of everything good, bad and in between. Lord, your daughter is full of praises. I am eternally grateful. Retirement is already blissssss,” she wrote on social media.

Calvin-Onwuka holds the record of the first Nigeria assistant referee to make use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the quarter final of the AFCON game between South Africa and Tunisia.

After getting her FIFA badge, she officiated in two Africa Women’s Championship, and made history as part of the first all women’s refereeing team for the African Men’s Championship Tournament.

The Nigeria foremost referee was the first Nigerian to officiate in the WAFCON final between Morocco and South Africa where she served as an Assistant Referee one (AR1) in the game.

She has been a FIFA badge referee since 2012 and was preselected to officiate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Benue born retired FIFA badge assistant referee is a graduate of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Yelwa, Bauchi with a bachelor’s degree in industrial chemistry.