For the umpteenth time, the world football governing body, FIFA, has again excluded Nigerian referees from those who will be officiating at the forthcoming 2022 World Cup to be staged in Qatar.
FIFA, has however, shortlisted eight other African referees among 36 referees, 63 assistant referees and 36 VAR officials who will be selected for the tournament.
The world football governing body will announce the final list of referees one month before the World Cup starts.
Gambian referee Bakary Papa Gassama is among the eight (8) referees from Africa that made the preliminary list.
Other African referees listed are Jean Jacques Ndala (RD Congo), Mustapha, Ghorbal (Algeria), Redouane Jiyed (Morocco), Papa Bakary Gassama (Gambia), Balmak Tessema (Ethiopia), Victor Gomez (South Africa), Janny Sikazwe (Zambia), and Maguette N’diaye (Senegal).
Most of these referees officiated at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which was held in February in Cameroon.
They will undergo training for some months ahead of the tournament, which kick starts in seven months.
