41 Nigerian Referees Fail Fitness Tests

The Nigeria Referees Association confirmed that 41 of the 412 referees who participated in its mid-season fitness on Thursday test failed.

The tests included referees from the Nigerian Professional Football League and the Nigeria National League and one of the testing instructors, Ameenu Mohammed, confirmed 371 referees passed the examination.

"We recorded a 100 per cent turn out from the six geo-political zones and, in all, 412 referees participated. Only 41 of them failed, meaning that 371 passed. Now, we can say that we have recorded about 90 per cent success in relation to the number of those who participated, which is a good one for us," said Ameenu

While, a Consultant Referee to the Nigeria Football Association, Zubairu Sani, was happy with the results of the test and says the ones who passed, will officiate the remaining league matches.

"The 90 per cent pass is an indication that the referees are ready and fit for the second stanza of the league. We are happy that the test was successful without any casualty, coupled with the fact that we recorded 90 per cent pass. It is an indication that the referees have not gone to sleep, even as the leagues are now on break for the World Cup," Sani said.

"We will ensure that only the referees who passed the fitness test will officiate the remaining matches in the leagues," he said.