Two Nigerian referees; Patience Madu and Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka have been named by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to officiate in next month’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
A list of 40 match officials including 16 centre referees, 16 assistant referees and eight Video Assistant Referees (VAR) has been exclusively made available to YourSportsMemo.
On the list are Madu who was the fourth official at the Tokyo Olympics last year as well as Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka who is one of the assistant referees on FIFA Women’s World Cup list.
Madu and Calvin-Onwuka were also among the thirty-two (32) match officials that officiated at the last edition of the WAFCON, held in Ghana in 2018 and will now officiate in the competition billed to start in Rabat, Morocco on July 2, 2022.
Both referees officiate in the top flight of Nigeria’s men’s league – Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and also officiated at the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League held in Cairo, Egypt last year.
The duo will not be the only Nigerian flagbearers at the tournament with the women’s national team, Super Falcons pitched in Group C alongside South Africa, Burundi and Botswana as they bid to defend the title they won in Accra in 2018.
The 14th edition of the Women’s AFCON will also serve as qualifiers for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand starting from July 20.
Affa Acho is a seasoned senior reporter for Leadership Newspaper, where he specializes in sports and entertainment. His work is distinguished by its in-depth features that go beyond surface-level coverage. Affa's commitment to delivering accurate and vibrant reporting makes him a highly trusted and authoritative voice on his beat.
