Nigeria’s Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualifier first leg against Libya on Wednesday will have match officials from Ghana in charge, with Daniel Laryea set to be the centre referee at Ben Guerdane Stadium in Tunisia.
Ghanian referee Laryea will be assisted by his compatriots, with Acheampong Brobbey as assistant referee one and Emmanuel Allou assistant referee two.Another Ghanaian, Adaar Abdul Latif is the fourth official, while Amir Osman Mohamed Amid from Sudan is the match commissioner.
The Nigerian team will aim for victory against their hosts, in order to get a ticket to the continental championship where they were last winners in 2015, and went on to get bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
That feat, achieved by Coach Samson Yebowei Siasia, with former Chelsea of England star, John Mikel Obi as captain, made Nigeria the only African country to have won gold, silver and bronze medals of the men’s Olympic Games’ football tournament.
Gold was the harvest at the Centennial Games in Atlanta, USA, and silver came in Beijing, China in 2008.
The bronze medal won by the Olympic Eagles at the Games in Brazil in 2016 was the only medal won by the entire Team Nigeria at the fiesta.
Africa’s flag-bearers in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament of Tokyo 2020 will emerge during the 3rd Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Egypt from the 8th to 22nd November this year.
Incidentally, while the Olympic Eagles will have a Ghanaian ref in charge of their match with Libya, a member of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive committee, Alhaji Babagana Kalli will be the match commissioner when Ghana face Gambia elsewhere.
Ghana’s Black Meteors, 1992 Olympics bronze medalists, take on their Gabonese counterparts at Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, in a first round, second leg qualifier for the 3rd Africa U23 Cup of Nations.
Kalli, who is also chairman of NFF Match Commissioners Committee and chairman of Borno State Football Association, will work with officials from Central African Republic, with Jean Marc Ganamandji at the centre.
Others are Jospin Luckner Malonga (Assistant Referee 1), Oscar Vujovic Serengapou (Asst Ref 2) and Dongombe Arcy Prince Arcy (4th Official).