The Nigeria Football Federation has commended Nigerian officials Patience Ndidi Madu and Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka for their historic performances in their respective capacities at the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations, which is currently taking place in Morocco.
Madu, who also officiated at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, became the first Nigerian referee to use the Video Assistant Referee gadget in a Women AFCON match as she took command of the group stage match between Burkina Faso and Uganda. In two additional games, she was the fourth official.
Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka became the first Nigeria assistant referee in the quarter finals of a Women AFCON that deployed the Video Assistant Referee, when she played that role during the quarter-final encounter between South Africa’s Banyana Banyana and Tunisia. Calvin-Onwuka had earlier been part of the group stage encounters between Togo and Tunisia, and the match between Burkina Faso and Uganda where Madu was referee.
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“We congratulate Patience Madu and Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka for their historic outings and we urge them to continue to do Nigeria proud at all matches and tournaments in which they find themselves. Both officials have been improving brilliantly in the past years and we commend them for their strong determination to keep improving themselves, self-motivating and performing diligently at a high level,” NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said on Tuesday.
In her quarter final experience, Calvin-Onwuka was yoked with Salima Mukansanga – the Rwandan official who is widely regarded as the leading woman referee on the African continent. The 33-year old officiated at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals and is one of three women referees globally who have been shortlisted for the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar later this year. She has also officiated at the Olympics and at the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Earlier this year in Cameroon, Mukansanga became the first woman to referee an Africa Cup of Nations match.
Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka is one of the referees shortlisted to perform at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica, slated for 10th – 28th August.
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