Nigerian referees to receive training on VAR after 18-year absence at international tournaments

The attention of the Nigerian football community, the absence of Nigerian referees at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast has sparked considerable conversation. 

This hiatus extends a startling drought, with no Nigerian referees having taken the center stage at the AFCON since 2006, a gap that stretches back 18 years and echoes the nation's absence from refereeing at global tournaments.

Desire Noumandiez Doue, the Head of Refereeing at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), shed light on the reasons behind this decision during a training session in Abidjan. 

Doue pointed to performance issues as the core reason Nigerian referees were sidelined, emphasizing the necessity for them to elevate their game to align with CAF's expectations.

In response, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has not taken this exclusion lightly. Honourable Nse Udofot Essien, a South-South region board member, voiced the board's dissatisfaction and highlighted the federation's commitment to rectify this. 

Under the leadership of Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the NFF is gearing up to ensure Nigerian referees receive the requisite training in VAR and other advanced technologies. 

Essien's statement underlines this commitment, "On the issue of VAR and advanced technology, the President has promised that our referees are going to be trained on it. Consultations are ongoing with CAF and FIFA to ensure our men are at par with their colleagues in global best practices," he said, per Soccernet. 

This move is seen as a critical step towards bringing Nigerian referees up to speed with global best practices, setting the stage for their potential inclusion in the upcoming 2025 AFCON tournament. 

The ambition is clear: to overturn the current narrative and showcase the capabilities of Nigerian referees on Africa's biggest footballing stage.