By Amaechi Agbo
FIFA Referee Kassim Abdulsalam, one of Nigeria’s international football Referees showcased standard officiating in the ongoing 2026 CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON in Morocco.
Abdulsalam who has been in Morocco from the preparatory stages of the championship till the main competition etched Nigeria’s name on the list of medal winners as he was one of the match officials who handled the last two games of the finals of the championship.
The Acting President of Nigeria Football Referees’ Association (NFRA) Sir. Kelechi Mejuobi on behalf of the assassination, congratulated FIFA Abdulsalam for his giant strides at the Morocco soccer fiesta stressing that “its another big plus to the relaunch of program of the association aimed at ensuring Nigeria referees get commanding positions in CAF and FIFA ratings”.
Mejuobi maintained further “the association as part of encouraging members for enviable heights shall honour him in a special way”.
Mr. Abdulsalam led the Referees’ team that handled the third place match before the finals, and he had handled three matches in the championship to gain the confidence of CAF Referees’ committee to appoint him for the third place of the championship.
“After showing his worth in the first game, he was found worthy for the crucial Egypt vs Morocco which he handled with excellent refereeing expertise.
“Kassim Abdulsalam is an international Referees, member of the Zamfara State Referees’ Council of the NFRA. His performance is a collaborative efforts of the Nigeria Football Referees’ Association (NFRA) and the NFF Referees’ Development Committee’s aims at taking Nigerian referees to an enviable heights both in the domestic league and international scene.
