NFF President reveals plans to develop Nigerian Referees

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau has shared his plans to improve the country’s domestic football league, with a special focus on developing referees.

Speaking about the NFF’s progress, Gusau said, “We’ve worked on creating policies to improve our domestic league. It took time to overcome the problems that affected its proper organisation, but it was necessary.”

One of the key changes has been addressing long-standing issues with match officials, such as delayed payments and lack of proper training.

Gusau emphasized the important role referees play in ensuring the league is fair and credible, saying, “No matter how good your teams are, if the referees don’t perform well, it causes frustration.”

To improve the situation, the NFF has started training programmes and brought in new talent, including 12 referees under the age of 20, who are now officiating in the Premier League.

Gusau praised their work, saying no complaints have been made about the young referees.

He added, “We must support our youth, as this is the only way to address the concerns Nigerians are raising.”

The NFF is also focused on improving Nigeria’s presence at international tournaments.

Gusau expressed disappointment that only one Nigerian referee has been selected for the upcoming CHAN tournament, blaming a lack of preparation.

However, he is hopeful that the inclusion of young referees in the league will help strengthen Nigeria’s position in global football officiating in the future.