Nigerian Referees Missing As CAF Unveils 2025 AFCON Officiating List

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled the referees and video assistant referees (VARs) for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), notably omitting any Nigerian officials from the list.

The roster included 28 centre referees and 14 VAR officials, with no representation from Nigeria. Instead, the host nations—Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Mauritania—contributed two centre referees each.

Among the VAR officials selected were Algeria’s Lahlou Benbraham, Egypt’s Mahmoud Ashour, Tunisia’s Haythem Guirat, Morocco’s Hamza El Fariq, and Senegal’s Djibril Camara.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, with Morocco facing Comoros in the opening match in Rabat on Sunday, 21 December.