The spotlight will be on African referees at the impending FIFA Club World Cup 2017 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following the appointment of Senegalese trio, Malang Diedhiou, Djibril Camara and Malick Samba for the opening match, between Al Jazira (UAE) and Auckland City of New Zealand.
The match, a play-off for the quarter finals, will take place on Wednesday, 6 December 2017 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain at 21H00 local time (17H00 GMT).
“The appointment of the trio for the opening match is a good sign for African referees and the game in general. I’m hopeful that they will showcase the rising status of refereeing on the continent to the rest of the world,” said CAF Refereeing Manager, Eddy Maillet.
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Diedhiou and his compatriots officiated the second leg final of the Total Confederation Cup 2017 between Supersport United (South Africa) and TP Mazembe (DR Congo) on 25 November 2017 in Pretoria. The match ended barren with Mazembe winning the title 2-1 on aggregate.
African referees have been prominent at the FIFA Club World Cup with Zambia’s Janny Sikazwe handling last year’s final between eventual winners, Real Madrid (Spain) and Kashima Antlers.
Source: CAF