By Walter Wilson Nana
The Referee Commission of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, have made public the match officials designated for the 28th edition of the African Cup of Nations due for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Amongst the 18 referees invited is the 2011 CAF Referee of the year, Ivorian-born, Noumandiez Doue. The other 17 include; Mohamed Benouza and Djamel Haimoudi from Algeria, Bouchaib El Ahrach from Morocco, Neant Alioum, Cameroonian, Daniel Bennett from South Africa, Koman Coulibaly, Malian, Badara Diatta from Senegal, Bakary Gassama from Gambia, Ghead Grisha is Egyptian, Slim Jedidi is Tunisian, Aly Lemghaifry from Mauritania, Eddy Maillet from Seychelles, Hamada Nampiandraza from Madagascar, Eric Otogo-Castane the Gabonese, Khalid Abdel Rahman from Sudan, Rajindraparsad Seechurn from Mauritius Island and Janny Sikazwe the Zambian.
The assistants are; Evarist Menkouande and Yanoussa Moussa from Cameroon, Redouane Achik from Morocco, Jean-Claude Birumushahu is from Burundi, Balkrishna Bootun from the Mauritius Island, Richard Bouende-Malonga from DR Congo, Djibril Camara is from Senegal, Moffat Champiti from Malawi, Jason Damoo from the Seychelles, Balla Diarra is Malian, Aboubacar Doumbouya from Guinea-Conakry, Peter Edibe from Nigeria, Abdelhak Etchiali is Algerian, Bechir Hassani from Tunisia, Felicien Kabanda from Rwanda, Angesom Ogbamariam from Eritrea, Aden Range is Kenyan, David Shaanika from Namibia, Zakhele Siwela from South Africa, Theophile Vinga is Gabonese and the Ivorian, Songuifolo Yeo.
The invited match officials are expected in Libreville, Gabon, on January 18 2012, to be part of a refresher course designed for referees in the build up to the African football jamboree.
The Orange AFCON opens January 21 in Equatorial Guinea and ends on February 12 in Gabon.