NFF to Specify Hospital for member's Medical Tests

The Referees’ Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has said that it would henceforth specify hospitals where referees would undergo their medical tests.
The committee’s Chairman, Suleiman Mu’azu said that the decision was meant to check the issuance of fake medical certificates.
Mu’azu was speaking against the backdrop of the death of a Lagos-based referee, Osita Nwadiashi, during the 2013 fitness test held in Abuja from November 4 to November 8.
``What we are going to do now is to designate at least one hospital in each state.
 ``For instance, here in Abuja, the National Hospital; in Kaduna, you say the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Teaching Hospital, so that everyone that is going to have his medical test will do it in that hospital.

``We are collaborating once more with the NFF's Medical Committee to ensure that we get the best of medical services offered to our members.
Mu’azu said although the committee together with NFF's Medical Committee had endeavoured to ascertain referees’ state of health, he noted that the existing measures were not enough.
He said that the committee usually carried out the fitness test for the FIFA-badged referees but did little in handling the test for the local referees in view of their large number.
Mu’azu said the medical test was more comprehensive than the fitness test, adding that the existing requirement  was an  improvement  over  the previous  one.
``For the FIFA referees, we bring them to Abuja and carry them to the Villa clinic to carry out all the necessary tests (because) they are about 20.
``But for the National physical fitness test that involves Premier League referees and the National League referees, about 800, the number is too large for us to bring to Abuja at a time.
``So, we directed that the sample form that was recommended to us by the NFF medical committee be sent to  all the referees’ councils in the state; you go and see a qualified doctor to do all the necessary tests.
``The medical doctor that tested you must put his name, license number, telephone number and his hospital.
It would be recalled that the head of the committee’s Medical Unit, Ephraim Chukwuemeka, had alleged that the late Nwadiashi presented a fake medical certificate during the fitness test.