Female referees create African football history at CHAN

LIMBE: Three female referees created history on Saturday as Guinea and Zambia moved closer to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) quarter-finals, Tanzania clawed back into contention and Namibia were eliminated.

Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse and her assistants, Malawian Bernadetar Kwimbira and Nigerian Mimisen Iyorhe, became the first women to control a match at a senior CAF male tournament.

The breakthrough came two years ater female referees handled matches at the African under-23 and under-17 Cup of Nations tournaments.

Former professional basketball player Tafesse gave a flawless performance as Tanzania edged Namibia 1-0 in Cameroon city Limbe to remain third in Group D, one point behind leaders Guinea and Zambia.

Earlier, Zambia scored three minutes from time to snatch a 1-1 draw with Guinea in a lively match between the two teams most likely to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament reserved for home-based players.

Tafesse exuded confidence in every decision she made, was extremely fit and tolerated no foul play as she yellow-carded three Tanzanians within 10 minutes during the second half.

African male footballers oten dispute decisions against them, but most accepted without hesitation the rulings of Tafesse at the Stade Omnisport in the southwestern coastal resort.

“Lidya really enjoyed herself tonight and was a wonderful advertisement for female referees,” a CAF official, who requested anonymity as he is not an official spokesperson, told AFP.

CAF referees manager Eddy Maillet from the Seychelles was overjoyed as the trio created history eight days into the sixth edition of the Nations Championship.

“The CHAN is the second most senior national team competition in the continent ater the Africa Cup of Nations,” he said.

“It is a wonderful plaform for Lidya, Bernadetar and Mimisen to prove what they are capable of. They competed with male referees for places at this tournament and now they have made history.”