The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially released the full roster of referees and Video Assistant Referees (VAR) selected for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and notably, no Nigerian match official made the cut.

CAF confirmed the appointment of 28 centre referees and 14 VAR officials for the tournament in Morocco. Host nation Morocco, along with Algeria, Egypt, and Mauritania, each contributed two centre referees, highlighting their growing influence in African officiating.

Among the VAR officials heading to Morocco are some of the continent’s most experienced names, including Algeria’s Lahlou Benbraham, Egypt’s Mahmoud Ashour, Tunisia’s Haythem Guirat, Morocco’s Hamza El Fariq, and Senegal’s Djibril Camara.

AFCON 2025 is scheduled to run from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026. Hosts Morocco will kick off the tournament with an opening match against Comoros on Sunday, December 21 in Rabat.

With Nigeria absent from the officiating list, conversations will continue about the country’s dwindling representation not just on the pitch, but also in the technical and officiating departments of African football.