South Africa’s Akhona Makalima will be among 29 match officials appointed to officiate at the upcoming CAF Women’s Champions League 2022.
She joins the defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies at the tournament which is scheduled to run from 30 October to 13 November in the cities of Rabat and Marrakech in Morocco.
Makalima has just returned from Eswatini where she was one of the match officials in the final of the TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023 qualifiers.
The match officials, made up of 10 referees, 12 assistant referees and seven for VAR, are from 23 countries including Namibia, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Zambia and Morocco.
“Relying on the quality and experience of the referees is essential to ensure a successful competition, especially after the resounding success and excitement during WAFCON 2022. Before each of our major tournaments, potential referees are regularly monitored physically, technically and medically, both at the country and zone level. This allows us to keep a constant eye on health, fitness, performance and to ensure that each candidate arrives ready to compete,” CAF Head of Refereeing and Football Technology, Désiré Noumandiez Doué told CAFonline.com.
The match officials will undergo further training ahead of the tournament, under the guidance of experienced experts and quality assessors.
They will be in Morocco from 25 to 29 October.
“In the last 12 months, we have held several workshops, training camps and other interventions focusing specifically on the advancement of women referees in Africa. This has resulted in 230 international women officials evaluated and the best make up the gist of the Women’s Champions League. We are particularly proud of the women referees from Africa who are doing amazing work at FIFA level – from the FIFA Women’s U17 and the group that is preparing for the FIFA World Cup,” added Doué.
South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies were the inaugural winners in 2021.
They have been drawn in Group B alongside Bayelsa Queens (Nigeria), TP Mazembe (DRC) and Wadi Degla (Egypt), while hosts ASFAR (Morocco) is in Group A together with Green Buffaloes (Zambia), Simba Queens SC (Tanzania) and Determine Girls (Liberia).
The first two teams in the group will make up the semi-finalists.
Green Buffaloes open the tournament with a clash against Determine Girls FC, followed by the hosts who will welcome Simba Queens SC.
The final will be played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Below is the full list of referees:
By Matlhomola Morake
