LMC, NRA move to rebrand Nigerian Referees

A two day FIFA cooper test organised by the League management company and the Nigeria football association, came to an end Thursday at the mainbowl of the national stadium with over thirty Nigerian referees in attendance. The ceremony was rounded off with a 12 lap run round the playing pitch to ascertain the fitness level of participants. After the field work, came the ceremony which was conducted by three men who have done their utmost in rebranding the image of the Nigerian referee which at some point towards the end of last season and early this season came under severe media backlash following some very questionable officiating that threatened to put bring the game into disrepute.

LMC chairman Shehu Dikko has however jumped in defence of the Nigerian referee, describing them, as some of the best on the Continent. Dikko while reeling out plans by the league body to improve the lot of the Nigerian referee, said that the welfare of the Nigerian referee is very paramount to the league body. As part of fresh incentives lined up, the LMC has put in place an insurance policy for all Nigerian referees to further secure their future and guarantee them of a better tomorrow.

Also, the LMC is currently discussing with interested sponsors willing to partner with the league body in sponsoring the uniforms of the Nigerian referees. On officiating, he said, referees are human and are prone  to mistakes . He made example of the the officiating in the Barcelona and PSG UEFA champions league round of 16 tie played on Wednesday, where the referee gave two questionable penalties to Barcelona in one of the most crazy comebacks in football history.

Chairman of the NFF referees committee Ahmed Yusuf Fresh, is the brain behind the success story of the Nigeria referees and daily, he is working to better the lot of the association. He has assured that more opportunities will be provided to enhance the performance of the Nigerian referee, appealing to them to ensue diligence and fair play at all time, in the discharge of their duties.

President of the Nigeria referees association Tade Azeez has assured the referees that discussion is in advance stage with the NFF and LMC to improve referees indemnities but he opined that this can only be achievable if the referees give their best at all time.

The annual FIFA referees cooper test is a mandatory prerequisite, to determine the fitness of referees before recommending them for Badging by CAF and FIFA.