Kenyan referee among 46 selected for Women's AFCON duty

Kenyan FIFA referee Josephine Wanjiku has been selected to officiate in the upcoming Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

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Wanjiku was among the 46 referees announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to officiate in the continental tourney that is scheduled from Saturday, 5 to Saturday, 26 July.

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In the list that comprises 18 Centre Referees, 18 Assistant Referees and 10 Video Match Officials (VMOs), Wanjiku is the only Kenyan and among the only nine officials from East Africa.

Among the nine officials from East Africa, four are centre referees, three are assistant referees, while the other two will serve as VMOs, with Rwanda having the highest representation, three.

Rwanda's Aline Umutoni, Uganda's Shamirah Nabadda and Sauvis Iratunga of Burundi will join Wanjiku as East Africa’s centre referees.

They will be joined by assistant referees Alice Umutesi (Rwanda), Fides Bangourabona (Burundi) and Kanjiga Mireille (DRC) as assistant referees.

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In the VMOs category, Rwanda's Dalima Rhadia Mukansanga and Sudan's Abdalaziz Yasir Ahmed will fly the East Africa flag.

Hosts Morocco will have the highest number of referees in the tournament at five, including two centre referees, two assistant referees and one VMO.

This appointment comes on the back of a WAFCON preparation course that was held from Sunday, 25 May to Thursday, 29 May in Cairo, Egypt.

The course brought together a total of 59 match officials that including eight from East Africa, where Wanjiku was also the only Kenyan participant.

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Previously, Wanjiku was once again the only Kenyan referee invited for a FIFA seminar for prospective referees that was held from Monday, 3 March to Friday, 7 March in Doha, Qatar.

The WAFCON appointment is yet another big tournament that Wanjiku, who is one of the only two Kenyan FIFA centre referees alongside Juma Lucy Awino, will be handling.

Wanjiku was on duty as the fourth official in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup qualifier between Guinea and Ivory Coast in April and has also officiated in the CAF Women's Champions League.

Full list

Referees

Twanyanyukwa Antsino (Namibia), Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco), Aline Umutoni (Rwanda), Amedome Vincentia (Togo), Ganouati Dorsaf (Tunisia), Ghada Mehat (Algeria), Akissi Konan Natacha Gerardine (Botswana), Shahenda Saad Ali Elmaghrabi (Egypt), Shamirah Nabadda (Uganda), Akhona Makalima (South Africa), Samassa Yacine (Mauritania), Suavis Iratunga (Burundi), Sadir Sabah (Morocco), Josephine Wanjiku (Kenya), Aline Guimbang Etong (Cameroon), Eunice Akintoye Yemisi (Nigeria), Awa Alphonsine O. Ilboudo (Burkina Faso), Aminata Fullah (Sierra Leone)

Assistant Referees

Diana Chikotesha (Zambia), Fathia Jermoumi (Morocco), Alice Umutesi (Rwanda), Yekini Nafissatou Shitou (Benin), Afine Houda (Tunisia), Ouahab Asma Feriel (Algeria), Tabara Mbodji (Senegal), Yara Atef (Egypt), Kourouma Mahawa (Guinea), Atezambong Fomo Carine (Cameroon), Mariem Chedad (Mauritania), Fides Bangourabona (Burundi), Ishsane Nouajli (Morocco), Sakina Hamidou Alfa (Niger), Fanta Idrissa Kone (Mali), Kanjinga Mireille (DRC), Nancy Kasitu (Zambia), Hannah Lydia Moses (Liberia)

Video Assistant Referees (VAR)

Maria Rivet (Morocco), Letticia Viana (Eswatini), Salima Rhadia Mukansanga (Rwanda), Lahlou Benbraham (Algeria), Abdalaziz Yasir Ahmed (Sudan), Babacar Sarr (Mauritania), Ghislain Pierre Atcho (Gabon), Daniel Lareya (Ghana), Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya), Haggag Hossam (Egypt)