The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the final list of Match Officials set to officiate the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco 2025, www.aclsports.com reports.
A total of 73 highly experienced officials, comprising 28 referees, 31 assistant referees, and 14 VAR officials, have been appointed for this edition of Africa’s biggest football competition that will take place from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.
”The carefully selected officials represent all regions of the continent and include some of Africa’s most experienced referees, who have officiated across a number of major CAF competitions in recent years,” reads a statement from CAF.
“All appointed match officials are expected to arrive in Morocco on 15 December 2025 for an intensive preparatory course ahead of the competition. The programme, which will be led by CAF’s Referees Department, will include physical, technical, and theoretical assessments designed to ensure optimum performance throughout the tournament.
Although Nigerian FIFA referee Joseph Ogabor has handled games in the CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup, AFCON Qualifiers and World Cup Qualifiers in the past year, it is fast becoming a regular thing for Nigerian referees to be missing in Africa’s biggest competitions in recent years.



