The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has named Namibia’s Antsino Twanyanyukwa as centre referee for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final between Nigeria and Morocco.
Antsino will make history as the first Namibian to officiate a WAFCON final.
Her steady leadership, consistency, and calm control of matches have earned her the ultimate honour.
Antsino officiated several key matches, impressing CAF’s Technical and Refereeing Committee with her ability to remain poised in high-pressure moments.
“I didn’t expect this at all; I’m still in shock. But with God, all things are possible,” Antsino told CAFonline.
Read Also:WAFCON 2024: Oparanozie Backs Super Falcons To Beat Morocco In Final
“WAFCON is a major competition, and expectations are high. We have to go in with the mindset that the whole continent is watching and give our absolute best.
“Personally, I believe I have the talent and the potential. They’ve seen what I can do, and now it’s my opportunity to prove it; to show it on the pitch.”
She will be joined by an elite team of assistants: Alice Umutesi (Rwanda) as Assistant Referee 1, and Tabara Mbodji (Senegal) as Assistant Referee 2,
Experienced VAR Team
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team will be led by Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga, a pioneer in global football officiating, and one of the most respected figures in the women’s game.
Mukansanga made headlines as the first woman to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, and has brought her experience from the Olympics and FIFA Women’s World Cups to the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Supporting Mukansanga, are Letticia Viana (Eswatini) as AVAR 1, and Diana Chikotesha (Zambia) as AVAR 2, both rising stars in Africa’s officiating ranks.
By Adeboye Amosu
3 Comments
Ha! See, they have already started! LMAO
Out of all the referees in African diaspora, they had to bring one from the southern African region – a place where hatred for Nigeria is at it’s world’s greatest! Hmm, na wa for this world o – but let me ask, what has Nigeria done to deserve such hatred and unfair treatment? Not just in football but in all spheres of life??
They went and found a referee from Namibia, a place where every man, woman and dog hates Nigeria and Nigerians for absolutely ZERO reason??
What has Nigeria done?? Why all this wickedness and antagonist behaviour from all around??
Well, the saying “Who God has blessed, let no man curse” holds very true. It always has and still does today, so all this hatred just means more and more blessings for Nigeria and Nigerians worldwide. So be it IJMN!
That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the ref’s nationality.
Since CAF can’t appoint a North or West African ref, I would be more comfortable with a ref from East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Mauritius, Madagascar, etc), not Southern Africa, most of whom (not Zambia) will root for SA.
But I also want to believe the ref will be very professional and do her job with no sentiment. That said, a superlative performance by the SF will cripple any mischievous intentions by the ref and make any wayo too obvious to the world. This is particularly important as we’ll be playing against nearly the entire stadium with their laser lights, whistles, and jeers to try to intimidate and influence the game.
Well said. Good thinking and a few angles I hadn’t considered I must admit. And the bottom line is as you observed, If the SF’s charge out of the blocks and play a blinder, scoring 2 or 3 early on in the first half, and if they come prepared for war as they’ll be playing against not just the Moroccan team with all their antics and dark arts in the game, but also a 12th and 13th “man” in the form of the crowd and CAF itself, then they should be too strong for the Moroccan team and victory will be guaranteed. Fingers crossed.