Sani Zubairu, Head of Referees Unit at Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Monday said Nigerian-born referee Ferdinand Udoh is good enough to officiate at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Zubairu told the Sports Journalist that the federation was working round the clock to make this realistic.
“It is time for African referees to rise to the occasion of officiating at the elite global football event and NFF has been working in line with that.
“Udoh is a FIFA Elite B referee at present, and we are hopeful that he is going to Elite A.
“At the Elite A cadre, he will start officiating World Cup matches because he has been tried and trusted, and we hope that he will officiate at the 2022 World Cup,” Zubairu said.
Zubairu, a former referee, pointed out that African referees had in recent times improved in officiating, with a number of them excelling in both CAF and FIFA matches.
He, however, said hard work and being focused were the key to lasting glory in any profession, especially match officiating.
TNG reports that Udoh is one of the country’s leading FIFA-badged referees.