AFCON 2025: Nigeria missing as CAF announces official list of referees for training camp

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the full list of referees selected to officiate at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The 35th edition of the biennial tournament will take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, across six cities in Morocco. The selected referees and assistant referees will travel to Cairo from November 813 for an intensive training camp ahead of the competitions kickoff in December. Sadly, no Nigerian referee was selected for the list, underscoring the urgent need for stronger development programs and greater investment in our refereeing system. According to BSN, a total of 94 officials, which includes 33 referees, 36 assistant referees, and 11 Video Assistant Referees (VAR), have been invited to participate in a preparatory course. The training will focus on fitness drills, match management, and VAR operations to ensure uniform officiating standards across the competition, per Inside CAF. No Nigerian referee has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the past 19 years. The last Nigerian referee to do so was Emmanuel Imiere, who officiated the 2006 AFCON match between Zambia and Guinea in Egypt. The post AFCON 2025: Nigeria missing as CAF announces official list of referees for trainingcamp appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.