The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has broken new ground by including three women referees for the first time to handle games at the 2019 Total U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Tanzania.
The historic appointment was the highlight of the Caf referees committee meeting held at the Caf headquarters in Cairo on 26 February 2019.
The three women referees, Jonesia Rukyaa Kabakama of Tanzania, Kenya’s Mary Wanjiru Njoroge, and Lidwine Rakotozafinoro of Madagascar were named among the 29-match officials listed for the U17 Afcon.
For the first time, women referees will officiate at a men’s tournament, @Total U-17 AFCON Tanzania 2019.The trail blazers are Jonesia Kabakama 🇹🇿,
Mary Njoroge 🇰🇪 & Lidwine Rakotozafinoro🇲🇬.They will take part in a training course from 31 March to April in Morocco #TotalAFCONU17 pic.twitter.com/HRwznbnuvd— Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (@CAF_AWCON) March 11, 2019
Caf released the following statement on the matter, which reads:
‘The historic decision is a testament to Caf’s commitment to developing women’s football.
‘It will give women match officials a bigger platform to expose their talents and also gain experience at competitive level, considering the limited matches and competitions which often affect their progress and development.’
The 29 referees will undergo a training course in Casablanca, Morocco, ahead of their preparation for the tournament in Morocco, scheduled from 31 March to 4 April 2019.
The 15 referees and 14 assistant referees will undergo medical, physical and theoretical tests to decide the conclusive list of match officials for the final tournament, scheduled for 14-28 April 2019.
The eight nations competing in the tournament are host Tanzania, Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Guinea, Cameroon, Morocco and Senegal, with the semi-finalists due to represent Africa at the 2020 Fifa U20 World Cup.
