The Nigeria Football Federation Development Committee has described the death of referee Aweng Solomon Maram during a pre season fitness test in Abuja as a deeply unfortunate incident, while insisting that all required medical precautions were taken before the exercise began.
Maram, an elite referee in the Nigeria Premier Football League cadre and a member of the Plateau State Referees’ Council, reportedly collapsed during a fitness exercise at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Tuesday, August 18. He was subsequently taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, where he was confirmed dead.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s football refereeing community, particularly because the exercise was part of the official preparations for the 2026/27 football season.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Faith Irabor, chairman of the NFF Development Committee, rejected suggestions that negligence contributed to the referee’s death.
According to Irabor, the federation had established a medical screening process that referees were expected to complete before being permitted to participate in the physically demanding exercise.
She explained that referees first undergo medical examinations in their respective states, including an electrocardiogram test, before travelling to Abuja for the fitness programme.
Those who arrive at the national camp are then subjected to another round of checks by the medical team assigned to the exercise.
“The referees will do the ECG from their state of origin. The doctors will certify them fit for the exercise,” Irabor explained, adding that the medical personnel in Abuja also cross checked the documentation and assessed the officials before granting final clearance.
Maram, according to the committee chairman, had presented a medical report signed by a doctor which certified him fit to participate.
The medical team of the Nigerian Sports Commission also carried out additional checks using a prescribed medical format before the referees were cleared for the physical assessment.
However, despite those precautions, tragedy struck during the exercise.
Irabor said officials monitoring the session noticed that Maram was struggling before he eventually collapsed. She explained that the medical personnel responded immediately and began efforts to resuscitate him.
She said the officials were closely monitoring the referees throughout the exercise precisely because of the physical demands involved.
“Even as they were training, we still followed them as they were training. Everybody stands at alert,” she said, explaining that Maram was attended to before he completely fell and was subsequently taken to hospital.
The NFF committee chairman also pushed back against reports suggesting that the ambulance at the venue was not operational when the incident occurred.
Irabor insisted that an ambulance was available at the stadium and was used to transport Maram to the National Hospital after the emergency response at the venue.
“It is not true. The ambulance is working. It was there, and that was what we used to convey him to the hospital,” she said.
She added that another standby vehicle was also available during the fitness exercise.
The circumstances surrounding Maram’s death have nevertheless raised important questions about the medical procedures used during high intensity fitness assessments for football officials.
The referee was participating in Batch A of the pre season training programme organised by the NFF Referees Committee ahead of the new football season. Referees seeking consideration for appointments in the NPFL and other national competitions are required to pass medical and physical fitness tests.
The Nigeria Football Referees’ Association has also mourned Maram, describing him as one of the country’s outstanding match officials.
NFRA Acting President Kelechi Mejuobi described the death as a major loss to the refereeing community and expressed sympathy to Maram’s family, colleagues and the Plateau State football community.
According to the association, medical personnel at the stadium attempted to revive Maram with emergency treatment, including oxygen and medication, before he was taken to the National Hospital.
The tragedy has inevitably sparked discussions about how fitness tests for football officials are conducted and whether existing medical screening procedures should be strengthened.
Irabor acknowledged that, despite the precautions already in place, the federation could consider additional measures in future.
She suggested that instead of relying on medical examinations conducted in the referees’ home states, officials could potentially be required to undergo their final medical assessments at the National Hospital or another central facility before participating in the fitness test.
Such a change, she indicated, could ensure that all referees are assessed under the same conditions and by a centrally coordinated medical team.
For the NFF, the incident has become a painful reminder of the unpredictable risks associated with strenuous physical activity, even when medical clearance has been obtained.
For Maram’s colleagues, however, the focus remains on mourning a respected official who died while preparing to continue serving Nigerian football.
His death has cast a shadow over preparations for the new NPFL season, with fellow referees and football officials left to reflect on the loss of a colleague who had been regarded as a highly respected member of the profession.
The NFF has maintained that there was no negligence in the medical process leading to Maram’s participation, pointing to the examinations he underwent before the exercise and the emergency response that followed his collapse.
Nevertheless, the incident could lead to further scrutiny and potentially stronger medical protocols for future fitness assessments.
As Nigerian football prepares for another season, the loss of Aweng Solomon Maram will remain a sombre reminder that protecting the health and wellbeing of match officials must remain as important as preparing them to meet the physical demands of the game.
