The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed to officiate Nigeria’s third-place playoff against Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
CAF announced the appointment on Friday, naming Zakaria Brinsi and Akarkad Mostafa, both from Morocco, as assistant referees. Hassani Khalil of Tunisia will serve as assistant referee three, while Peter Kamaku of Kenya has been designated as the fourth official.
Algeria’s Lahlou Benbraham will oversee duties as Video Assistant Referee (VAR), supported by Haythem Guirat of Tunisia and Hamza El Fariq of Morocco. The referee assessor for the match is Sinko Zelli from Côte d’Ivoire.
Nigeria will face Egypt on Saturday, just days after the Super Eagles were eliminated in the semi-finals by hosts Morocco, who edged them 4–2 on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes in Rabat.
The Atlas Lions advanced to Sunday’s final, where they will take on Senegal’s Teranga Lions.
Saturday’s encounter marks Nigeria’s ninth appearance in an AFCON third-place playoff. The Super Eagles have won all eight previous bronze medal matches, the most by any team in the tournament’s history.
Having missed out on qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a penalty shootout defeat to DR Congo in the playoffs, Nigeria had turned to AFCON as an opportunity for redemption.
The Super Eagles impressed on their run to the semi-finals, scoring 14 goals, including a 4–0 thrashing of Mozambique and a commanding 2–0 win over Algeria.
However, against Morocco in the semi-final, Eric Chelle’s side struggled to reproduce their attacking fluency, though they remained defensively disciplined to force the match into extra time before eventually falling on penalties.
