Referee Mukansanga to lead all-female officiating line-up at Africa Cup of Nations

Rwanda referee Salima Mukasanga will lead an all-female line-up of match officials at the AFCON 2021 contest between Guinea and Zimbabwe.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: It will be the first time only women will officiate a game at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga will lead an all-female line-up of match officials at the Africa Cup of Nations encounter between Guinea and Zimbabwe on Tuesday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced.

It will be the first time only women will officiate a game at Africa’s flagship international tournament.

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Mukansanga will take charge alongside assistants Carine Atemzabong from Cameroon and Fatiha Jermoumi of Morocco. The Video Assistant Referee will be another Moroccan, Bouchra Karboubi. Mukansanga had been the fourth official in the clash between Guinea and Malawi on January 10.

“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.”