27 January 2021 –South African referee, Akhona Makalima has been appointed as the only female referee on the continent to officiate at the upcoming CAF 2021 U20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania.
This particular edition will be held from 14 February – 4 March 2021 where the top three teams will represent Africa at the next U20 FIFA World Cup.
The COSAFA Region will be represented by Mozambique and Namibia after reaching the final of the tournament that was held in Port Elizabeth in December 2020.
Other countries which will form part of the 12-team competition are hosts Mauritania, Cameroon, Uganda, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Namibia, Central African Republic, Ghana, Tanzania, Gambia and Morocco.
The match officials for the 2021 U20 AFCON are Ms Akhona Makalima (South Africa), Abdelaziz Bouh (Mauritania), Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon), Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda), Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia), Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast), Messie Jessie Nkounkou Mvoutou (Congo), Celso Alvacao (Mozambique), Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya), Pierre Ghislain Atcho (Gabon, Mahamed Ali Moussa (Niger), Souleiman Ahme Djama (Djibouti), Adalbert Diouf (Senegal), Alhadj Allaou Mahamat (Chad), Mehrez Melki (Tunisia)