Nigeria will have no representation among the officials at the historic 2026 IFAF World Flag Football Championships after the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unveiled the list of 40 International Technical Officials (ITOs) selected for the tournament in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The appointments, announced by the world governing body on Friday, cover officials from 22 countries who will oversee matches at what will be the first-ever Olympic qualifying tournament in the history of flag football ahead of the sport’s debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
While Nigeria will compete in both the men’s and women’s events after qualifying through the African championships, no Nigerian official was included in the list of referees and technical officials selected for the global event.
The selected officials come from Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United States.
IFAF Board Director Fabio Tortosa said the governing body received a large number of high-quality nominations from member federations across the world before arriving at the final list.
“We received a large number of high-quality nominations. The selection panel faced difficult choices and thanks all the federations and nominees for the care and professionalism shown in their submissions,” Tortosa said.
The governing body also noted that the appointments achieved near gender parity, describing it as another step towards its objective of having an equal number of male and female officials at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The development comes at a time when Nigeria is preparing for its first appearance at the IFAF World Flag Football Championships in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Although the absence of Nigerian officials will not affect the country’s participation on the field, it means the nation will not have technical representation in the officiating team at one of the biggest events in the sport’s history.
With the tournament scheduled for August in Düsseldorf, attention will now shift to Nigeria’s preparations as the country’s teams seek to make an impact against the world’s leading flag football nations.
