We’ll No Longer Allow Incompetent Persons To Commission Matches — NFF Boss

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has warned that inexperienced persons will no longer be allowed to commission matches in Nigeria’s football.

Alhaji Gusau said every individual currently serving as match commissioners in the country will have to undertake an examination to test his or her competence for the match commissioning job.

The NFF boss gave the directive while declaring match commissioners’ annual seminar open at the Merit House in Abuja on Wednesday.

He stressed that the NFF under his watch is working tirelessly to improve domestic football leagues, pledging further that only capable hands will be allowed to function in the very important role of match commissioner in the country.

“Going forward this seminar will now be a biannual programme so that we will have a good time to assess what you people are doing. As I said during the last seminar, and this time around also, an examination will be conducted, and I have directed that I want to see the outcome of the examination exercise because the old days where mediocres are allowed to commission matches are gone.

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“Now, if you know that you cannot write a match report properly, please don’t even waste your time to go for any match commissioning. We are not going to accept that because we are doing our best to ensure we improve the situation of our football in Nigeria, and everybody is happy trying to support us.

“I am sure that you are all looking forward to becoming FIFA and CAF match commissioners and you cannot be a match commissioner in CAF or FIFA without having good computer knowledge of how to write match reports online. So, let us start from home,” NFF boss said.

Gusau also announced that match commissioners who pass the upcoming examination, as well as referees and referee assessors, will be presented with new kits being sponsored by the official bank of the NFF and the national teams.

Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, while also speaking at the seminar, said the major concern of the league board and management is the integrity of the league and commended the NFF President for fulfilling his pledge of providing communication gadgets to the referees to enhance officiating.

He identified the major concern of the NPFL board and management as the league’s integrity.

“Your league is rated the way we are perceived outside your country and I want to thank the president of NFF for promising us that he will deliver communication gadgets to our referees and that he has done. So, the era of center referees leaving the center pitch to talk to AR1 or AR2 before taking a decision is over. He can now stay where he is at the center of the field to communicate and make his decision,” Elegbeleye said.

Earlier, Chairman of the NFF Match Commissioners Committee, Alhaji Babagana Kalli, announced that the theme for this year’s seminar is ‘Match Commissioning and the Challenges of Match Reporting’, saying match commissioners face numerous challenges despite the important role they play in football matches.