No Nigerian made the total list of 57 referees for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup which kicks off from 6 October to 17 November in Brazil.
A total of nine officials were picked in Africa by the world football governing body with three pegged down for duty as Centre Referees, and six as Assistant Referees, and none as Video Assistant Referees.
The three African officials that will function as center referees include; Gomes Victor from Republic of South Africa, Jiyed Redouane from Morocco, and Mohamed Amin from Egypt.
For the assistant referees, FIFA picked officials from five African countries which include; Morocco, Sudan, Libya, Madagascar and Lesotho.
Nigeria has FIFA badged referees for international tournament but none has been engaged in any recent time.
Recently, FIFA released its annual list of official referees for international tournaments and Nigerian referees only featured on three categories of: 11-Aside football, Men Futsal and Beach Soccer.
In 11-Aside football, FiFA recognises 21 officials comprising seven male referees, seven male assistant referees, three female referees, and four female assistant referees.
It is expected that the youth grade football competition in Brazil will give ambitious FIFA referees the opportunity to showcase their quality while taking another big step in their careers.
Referee preparation for this prestigious youth competition is organised by the FIFA Refereeing Department and focuses on a wide range of topics, including officials’ reading of the game, and football understanding.
Others include; positioning to adjudge offside, teamwork, good decision-making, and the importance of taking up the best position or angle – i.e. being in the right place at the right time.
All of these aspects reflect the philosophy of FIFA Refereeing and are key to referee preparation. As such, they are vital to the attainment of consistency and uniformity at the elite level of refereeing.
