Renowned former FIFA-badged referee, Dr Alex Mana has predicted an impending advent of Nigerian football arbiters into the echelon of match officials who would be invited to handle games in major competitions.
Sports247 reports that Mana, who has also been a referees’ instructor and an assessor in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), believes the future is bright for the country in terms of getting arbiters into African and global championships.
However, Mana, who has also made huge strides as a lecturer at the National Institute for Sports (NIS) in Lagos, confessed that the process towards getting referees selected to handle matches during major international competitions is not something that comes on a platter of gold.
He pointed out: “Getting a referee to the high level does not take one or two years. It takes many years.”
He also took a look at a list of young referees that was recently released for inclusion in the NPFL roster and equally positioned for formal recognition by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as he urged all Nigerians to support them towards achieving greater strides in the arbiters’ vocation.
Mana added, “Since this is the crop of referees we are raising now, and they are ready to continue growing, we should just support them. I am quite sure that anyone we present going forward in the next five, ten years will help us see Nigerian referees on top of the world.”
Mana concluded with a charge to all stakeholders of the round leather game to rally round Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) and other sactinoning bodies for football in the country to ensure that the nation’s arbiters become relevant for CAF and FIFA’s major assignments.
“Once we start doing the needful, we’ll continue to have young referees coming up. At the same time, older ones in the league are also ready to do their best and showcase what Nigerian football is all about.
“I am quite sure, if we maintain the status quo, with a leadership that is very fantastic, we’ll soon be there. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve seen it, and I’ve been part of it,” Mana declared
