History will be set in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations as an all women officiating team is set to be on duty as Guinea face Zimbabwe on January 18th at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium (16:00 GMT).
Rwandese referee Salima Mukansanga will make history when she becomes the first woman to be the centre referee of a match at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 35-year old will lead a quartet of female referees to take charge of the tie between Zimbabwe and Guinea scheduled for the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde.
The other female match officials are assistant referees Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon) and Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco) as well as VAR referee Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco).
This will be another massive achievement for the Rwandese whistler who became the first ever woman to officiate an AFCON match when she was appointed as a fourth official in the game between Guinea and Malawi in Bafoussam.
CAF Head of Referees, Eddy Maillet said this historic moment is as a result of CAF’s clear commitment and investment to improve and advance the standard of refereeing in Africa.
Part of this journey is the ‘Star Programme’ initiated by FIFA and CAF to develop referees.
“We are super proud of Salima because she has had to work exceptionally hard to be where she is today. We know that for a woman, she has had to overcome serious obstacles to reach this level and she deserves a lot of credit,” said Maillet.
“She (Mukansanga) has had to overcome serious obstacles to reach this level and she deserves a lot of credit,” CAF Head of Referees Eddy Maillet said in a statement.
“This moment is not just for Salima but for every young girl in Africa who has passion for football and who sees herself as a referee in the future.”