The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has concluded arrangements for the commencement of the FIFA Member Association Elite Referees Course in Abuja, following the successful staging of the FIFA Young Talent Referees Programme and Beach Soccer Refereeing Course.
Key Highlights
- The Nigeria Football Federation is set to begin the FIFA Member Association Elite Referees Course in Abuja.
- The Young Talent Referees Programme will end with a closing ceremony on June 12 at MKO Abiola National Stadium.
- The programme ran alongside a Beach Soccer Refereeing Course, both aimed at developing refereeing skills.
- About 54 young referees and 65 beach soccer referees participated, with 50 expected for the Elite Course starting June 15.
- FIFA deployed five instructors, led by former referee Felix Tangawarima, to train participants and improve officiating standards.
According to a statement by the NFF Communications Department on Thursday, the closing ceremony of the FIFA Young Talent Programme will take place on Friday, June 12, at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The Young Talent initiative, designed to identify and nurture aspiring referees from an early stage, began on June 8 alongside the Beach Soccer Refereeing Course.
Coordinator of the programmes and Special Assistant to the NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Ameenu, revealed that FIFA deployed five experienced technical and fitness instructors to Nigeria to oversee the three refereeing development programmes.
The team is headed by Felix Tangawarima, a former FIFA referee from Zimbabwe. Other instructors include Michelle Conti of Italy, fitness instructor Jeanne Ananh from Côte d’Ivoire, Mark Nzengo of Malawi and Bento Vanasse from Mozambique.
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Ameenu disclosed that 54 young male and female participants took part in the Young Talent Programme, while 65 referees participated in the Beach Soccer course.
He added that 50 referees are expected in Abuja for the Elite Referees Course, which will begin on June 15 and conclude on June 18.
“The Young Talent programme has run concurrently with the Beach Soccer course. The Elite Referees course will start on Monday, June 15, and end on Thursday, June 18, 2026,” Ameenu said.
The courses form part of FIFA’s continuous efforts to improve refereeing standards and develop a new generation of match officials across member associations.
