Rio 2016: FIFA rebuke Nigeria

No Nigerian referee will be on duty when the 2016 Olympic football tournament kicks off August in Rio. The Fifa Referees Committee confirmed that the appointment of 88 match officials from over 40 countries to officiate at the Olympics with no Nigerians mentioned. The men’s competition will see 18 referees and 32 assistant referees officiate and at the women’s tournament, 14 referees and 24 assistant referees will be on duty. Africa boast of four referees namely Kwimbira Bernadettar (Malawi), Camara Dhibril (Senegal), Samba El Hadji Malick (Senegal) and Ahmed Waleed (Sudan). The football event will take place from August 3rd – 21st, with the competition’s men’s and women’s finals taking place in the Maracanã stadium. Seven stadiums in total will host the competitions including 2014 Fifa World Cup host venues: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo.