Yemisi Akintoye details switch from football to WAFCON 2026 refereeing

Yemisi Eunice Akintoye has explained how a compulsory course during her studies changed her path from footballer to referee, a journey that has taken her to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. The Nigerian official recently refereed the WAFCON 2026 semi-final between Algeria and Malawi.

Akintoye had initially planned to remain involved in football as a coach. Before entering refereeing, she played in the Nigerian Women’s Football League for Taiwo FC, Jagunmolu Babes and Little Queens in Ibadan. Her father’s strong belief in education then encouraged her to return to school at the National Institute for Sports.

At NIS, she encountered officiating as part of her academic work. The course carried either four or six units, and passing it was necessary for graduation. Akintoye said she knew the game as a player but had little understanding of refereeing, and became concerned after finding more than 200 laws of football while studying online.

Seeking help, she visited the Lagos State Referees Council. Its secretary, Sonibare, advised her to join the referees rather than only search for someone to teach her the laws. She accepted the suggestion mainly to improve her chances of earning an A grade, but the experience eventually became something she enjoyed.

After graduating from NIS, Akintoye moved into active refereeing and continued the demanding process of progressing through the profession while studying Human Kinetics at the University of Lagos. She was also working at Grange in Ikoyi and said combining her studies, employment and refereeing placed heavy demands on her.

Her recent WAFCON involvement included two matches as a centre referee and three appointments as a fourth official in Morocco. She also received a welcome at the airport on her return, organised by fellow FIFA referee Hope Igho. Akintoye is now a FIFA-badge referee and leads the Female Young Girls Bootcamp project, while also running Mitsy Photography Studio.