Following discussions on the resumption of continental competitions in the not distant future, match officials have been gearing up for the D-Day, after sporting activities were put on hold due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Continental competitions were suspended in March 2020, however the match officials – Referees and Assistant Referees have been training to maintain their fitness and stay in shape, involved in virtual courses under the supervision and guidance of the newly constituted Technical Board of Experts in collaboration with the CAF Refereeing Department.
The composition of the Technical Board of Experts is as follows;
- Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda) – Coordinator & Central-East Zone
- Jerome Damon (South Africa) – Deputy Coordinator
- An Yan Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius) – South Zone
- Essam ElDin Abdel Fattah (Egypt) – North Zone
- Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) – West A Zone
- Noumandiez Doue (Cote d’Ivoire) – West B Zone
- Divine Evehe (Cameroon) – Central Zone
- Tempa Ndah (Benin) – Women’s Representative
- Hadqa Yahya (Morocco) – VAR Support
- Neji Jouini (Tunisia) – Consultant
During a video-conference meeting on Tuesday (21 July 2020), CAF President Ahmad Ahmad explained the decision to constitute an independent body of experts is in line with CAF’s strategic reforms policy ‘Transform CAF 2021’ launched few months ago.
He commended the board for the tremendous work during the period of the lockdown and their commitment to raise the standard of officiating on the continent, whilst urging them to respect protocols of their respective state authorities during these unusual times to control the pandemic.
“It is important that our Referees and Assistant Referee remain in the best of shapes for the resumption of competitions. Officiating is an essential part of the game and we have work hard especially during this period to get the best personnel for our matches to project the image of the continent as well,” Ahmad said.
