Tangawarima said this in Abuja at the formal opening ceremony of the 2013 FIFA Member Association Course for Elite Referees, Technical Instructors, Referee Assessors and Physical Fitness Instructors.
The referees’ instructor, who spoke on behalf of the course’s three instructors, said FIFA’s desire was because Nigeria is a force to be reckoned with in African football.
“As far as Africa is concerned, there is no way football will be mentioned and reference will not be made to Nigeria.
“In addition to this, most of the FIFA-organised competitions have Nigerian national teams participating.
“But we (FIFA) think participating alone is not enough. With this kind of course and some other ones held in the past, we hope to see Nigerian referees in every FIFA-organised tournament,” Tangawarima said.
He however commended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for requesting for the course to be held, saying it was a step in the right direction.
“As much as the NFF is striving to develop Nigerian football, we are happy that our department is not left behind in the development process.
“We commend the football house because its dedication is now yielding result, with Peter Edibie to represent Nigeria at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco next month.
“This means that we are moving in the right direction in the development of football in Nigeria and Africa at large,’’ Tangawarima said.
