Joel Ajayi
Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has revealed that any match Commissioner who could not write a match report should stay clear of commissioning saying say era of mediocrity is gone in the Nigeria Professional Football league.
The Federation said that only capable hands are left in the vocation.
President of the NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, gave the charge yesterday while addressing the match commissioners on the wing of their annual seminar, at Merit House, Abuja.
According to him, we want only the best hands to continue to function in the very important role of match commissioner in this country. Apart from the fact that this seminar will now be biennial, we are going to examine to pick the very best who will always make us proud.
“I am sure that you are all looking forward to becoming FIFA and CAF match commissioners. You can only get to that level if you are competent, capable, and digitally literate. You must also consistently enhance your capacity”.
He said that only match commissioners who pass the upcoming examination, as well as referees and referee assessors, will be presented with new kits being sponsored by Premium Trust Bank, the official bank of the NFF, and the National Teams.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NFF Match Commissioners Committee, Alhaji Babagana Kalli, had praised Alhaji Gusau and the NFF Board for their support and encouragement of match commissioners, as well as remarkable improvements in the various leagues over the past two years.
“The Ibrahim Musa Gusau administration has accomplished several feats in the past two years, including the Super Eagles’ silver medals at the AFCON which remains the best performance by the team since we won the trophy in South Africa in 2013; the Super Falcons’ return to the Olympics after 16 years and; the qualifications of the Falconets and Flamingos for their various FIFA World Cup championships. There has also been resurgence in grassroots football in the States as well as schools’ football.
“However, we are most fulfilled with the improvements in officiating in the Leagues and the new moves to rebrand our match commissioners for better performance”.
