AFCON 2025: Nigeria missing as CAF confirms final list of match officials
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the final roster of match officials for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to hold in Morocco next month — but Nigeria has again been left out, NigeriaSoccernet.com reports.
Despite the country’s strong football pedigree, no Nigerian referee or assistant referee was selected among the officials chosen for the continent’s biggest football competition. Tanzania also failed to produce a representative on the list.
CAF confirmed a total of 73 officials, including centre referees, assistant referees, and Video Match Officials (VMOs), drawn from several African nations. Countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Mauritania each produced two referees, while Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Egypt, and South Africa have at least one official on the roster.
A breakdown of selected referees shows:
Algeria – 2
Ghana – 1
South Africa – 1
Kenya – 1
Morocco – 2
Rwanda – 1
Mauritania – 2
Egypt – 2
Nigeria’s absence continues a worrying trend for the nation’s officiating standards, with no Nigerian referee appointed for a major CAF tournament in recent years.
CAF also released the list of Video Match Officials (VMOs), featuring top names such as Lahlou Benbraham of Algeria, Mahmoud Ashour of Egypt, and Haythem Guirat of Tunisia.
In East Africa, Uganda’s Shamirah Nabadda stood out as the only referee from her country selected for the tournament, while Kenya will have four officials, including centre referee Peter Kamaku Waweru and VMO Dickens Mimisa. Rwanda’s elite referee, Samuel Uwikunda and three Cameroonian officials were also confirmed.
The 2025 AFCON will kick off in Morocco amid high expectations, but Nigeria’s lack of representation among match officials remains a major talking point.
Uche Dozie
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