CAF Announces 63 Match Officials For AFCON, Only 1 Nigerian Picked

The Confederation Of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday released the 63 match officials who officiate at the 2021 African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) slated for Cameroon.

The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees, and eight video assistant referees (VARs) from 36 countries.

Only one of the listed officials was however from Nigeria, Samuel Pwadutakam, and he will work as an assistant referee.

The tournament, which has Nigeria’s Super Eagles as one of the 24 participating teams, will kick off on Jan. 9 and end on Feb. 6.

The opening match is between hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

Speaking on the list of match officials, CAF’s Director of Refereeing, Eddy Maillet said: “The match officials were selected based on their experience, skills and current form.”

He disclosed that in recent months, the officials were subjected to several aptitude tests through preparation courses and real competitive matches.

“This is because only the best will officiate at this extraordinary event.”

The CAF official added that the list of officials has two referees from the CONCACAF, the football governing body of North and Central Americas and the Caribbean.

“It is part of our inter-confederation skills exchange programme,” he stated.

NAN reports that the woman referee quartet of Salima Mukasanga (Rwanda), Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco), and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco) is on the list.

They were at the 2019 Under-17 AFCON and the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

All the selected match officials will complete their final preparations in Cameroon the week before the opening game.

They will be closely monitored before and during the competition by a team of technical specialists and instructors.

THE FULL LIST OF MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREES

Name	Country
Mustapha Ghorbal	Algeria
Helder Martins De Carvalho	Angola
Joshua Bondo	Botswana
Pacifique Ndabihawenimana	Burundi
Blaise Yuven Ngwa	Cameroon
Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo	DR Congo
Amin Mohamed Amin Omar	Egypt
Mahmoud El Bana Zakaria Moustafa	Egypt
Bamlak Tessema	Ethiopia
Gassama Bakary Papa	Gambia
Daniel Nii Laryea	Ghana
Mario Escobar	Guatemala
Peter Waweru Kamaku	Kenya
Boubou Traore	Mali
Dahane Beida	Mauritania
Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall	Mauritius
Jiyed Redouane	Morocco
Salima Mukansanga	Rwanda
Maguette Ndiaye	Senegal
Issa Sy	Senegal
Bernard Camille	Seychelles
Victor Miguel De Freitas Gomes	South Africa
Sadok Selmi	Tunisia
Janny Sikazwe	Zambia

ASSISTANT REFEREES

Name	Country
Etchiali Abdelhak	Algeria
Mokrane Gourari	Algeria
Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos	Angola
Seydou Tiama	Burkina Faso
Elvis Guy Noupue Nguengoue	Cameroon
Atezambong Fomo Carine	Cameroon
Soulaiman Almaldine	Comoros
Liban Abdourazak Ahmed	Djibouti
Oliver Safari Kabene	DR Congo
Mahmoud Ahmed Kamel Abouelregal	Egypt
Hossam Ahmed Taha Ibrahim	Egypt
Sidibe Sidiki	Guinea
Gilbert Cheriyot	Kenya
Souru Phatsoane	Lesotho
Attia M. Essa Amsaaed	Libya
Lionel Hasinjaosoa Andriananteain	Madagascar
Azgaou Lahcen	Morocco
Akerkad Mustapha	Morocco
Jermoumi Fatiha	Morocco
Zakaria Brinsi	Morocco
Arsenio Maringula	Mozambique
Mahamadou Yahaya	Niger
Samuel Pwadutakam	Nigeria
El Hadji Malick Samba	Senegal
Djibril Camara	Senegal
James Fredrick Emile	Seychelles
Zakhele Thusi Granville Siwela	South Africa
Ibrahim Abdalla Mohammed	Sudan
Issa Yaya	Chad
Hassani Khalil	Tunisia
Dick Okello	Uganda

VAR REFEREES

Name	Country
Lahlou Benbraham	Algeria
Abid Charef Mehdi	Algeria
Mahmoud Mohamed Ashour	Egypt
Fernando Guerrero	Mexico
Adil Zourak	Morocco
Bouchra Karboubi	Morocco
Samir Guezzaz	Morocco
Haythem Guirat	Tunisia

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