NRA Presents 7 Point Demand To NFF

The Nigerian Referees Association (NRA) has presented a seven point demand to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The NRA demands, which were contained in a communique issued to newsmen on Tuesday are Welfare, Indemnities, Sponsorship deal, Membership on NFF board, Training, Discipline and Match appointments.

The NRA frowned at the non-challant posture of the NFF when refrees get injured in the cause of carrying out their duties.

They called for an upward review of indemnities of match officials in line with the economic trends in the country.

“We expect this will lead to peak performance. These indemnities cut across all the leagues,” the communiqué said.

The NRA also felt that as major stakeholders in the football industry, they should be involved in sponsorship deals entered into by the NPL or the NFF to take good care of its members.

“The deal, should include insurance schemes and other packages,” the communiqué said.

The NRA also demanded for the immediate and urgent restoration of their position in the NFF board for effective management of its members.

The communique observed that the elected president of the association as a major stakeholder in the game of football, like the other chairmen or presidents should automatically be admitted as member(s) of the NFF board.

The association regarded training as a very important aspect of members’ development and therefore requested that the NFF or its sponsors to bear the cost of training referees at seminars, workshops, fitness test and conferences.

“This is expected to reduce the financial burden on referees and is equally expected to result in peak performance,” the communiqué added.

The association expressed dismay at the system where NFF communicates directly with individual referees and not through the association, stressing that this smacks off indiscipline in such referees who disregards their council leadership.

The NRA, therefore, requested that all communication with individual referees must henceforth be passed through the national or the state councils to the individual referees.

“This development will act as check on the referees’ attitudes,” it added.

On match appointment, the body requested for equitable sharing to take care of states that sustain the NRA, saying they believed that this would guarantee fairness.

It also urged NFF to use most of the experienced retired referees in the technical aspect of the game as well as the administrative aspects.