TheCable

Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has expressed commitment to the improvement of refereeing in the country.

Speaking on Monday at the opening ceremony of the FIFA member association elite programme for Nigerian referees, assessors and physical fitness trainers in Abuja, he said, “Refereeing is a critical aspect of the game of football. In fact, it is a major issue in the game.

“You would recall that at the advent of our administration, referees were the first set of people we sent on capacity building programme.

“Since then, our determination to improve refereeing in Nigerian football has never waned, and going forward, we are fully committed to ensuring that we achieve wholesale improvement in all aspects of officiating.

“I want to appreciate the instructors sent by FIFA- Felix Tangawarima and Tracey Lovell and I believe our referees stand to gain so much knowledge from this year’s programme.”

Also speaking, Tangawarima said that in his years of working on referee development programmes, he has never seen such robust top-echelon support for a refereeing course.

“The words of the NFF President, who also has foothold in CAF and FIFA, are also very reassuring, and I challenge you all to justify the confidence the NFF leadership has reposed in you by committing to integrity and excellence,” he said.