⚽ CAF Announces Opening-Round Refereeing Appointments
The Confederation of African Football has announced the refereeing teams appointed to oversee the opening round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The tournament will be hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
The group stage of the qualifiers begins on Thursday, September 24, and runs through Tuesday, October 6, with 48 national teams divided into 12 groups of four.
🔥 Major Matches Headline the Opening Round
The opening round features several high-profile fixtures, including Ivory Coast vs Ghana, Morocco vs Gabon, Egypt vs Angola and Algeria vs Zambia.
The matches mark the beginning of the road toward qualification for the next continental championship.
🇨🇮🇬🇭 Mustapha Ghorbal to Referee Ivory Coast vs Ghana
CAF’s Referees Committee has appointed Algerian international referee Mustapha Ghorbal to officiate the Ivory Coast vs Ghana clash in Bouake on Thursday.
Ghorbal will be assisted by Akram Zerhouni as first assistant and Mokran Gourari as second assistant, while Lotfi Boukoussa will serve as the fourth official.
Moroccan referee assessor Yahya Hadka has also been appointed as referee observer for the match.
🇪🇬🇦🇴 Kenyan Team Appointed for Egypt vs Angola
A Kenyan refereeing team led by Peter Kamaku has been appointed to oversee Egypt’s opening qualifier against Angola at Cairo International Stadium.
The match will represent Egypt’s first step in the qualifying campaign, with the Pharaohs aiming to make a strong start and collect points on home soil.
📋 Key Refereeing Appointments
CAF’s appointments for the opening round include:
- Morocco vs Gabon: South African referee Tom Abongile, at Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
- Egypt vs Angola: Kenyan refereeing team led by Peter Kamaku, at Cairo International Stadium.
- Tunisia vs Uganda: Mauritanian refereeing team led by Abdel Aziz Bouh, at Rades Stadium in Tunis.
- Algeria vs Zambia: Congolese refereeing team led by Yannick Kapenga Malala, at Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium in Tizi Ouzou.
🏆 2027 AFCON Qualification Format
The qualifying campaign features 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four, with six rounds scheduled across the qualification calendar.
The top two teams from most groups qualify for the finals. However, different qualification criteria apply to Groups 4, 8 and 12, which contain the host nations Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, all of whom are automatically qualified for the tournament.
Under the qualification format, the highest-ranked non-host team in each of those groups will also secure a place in the continental finals alongside the host nation.
📅 Remaining Qualification Dates
The qualifiers will resume between November 9 and 17 before the final two rounds are played from March 22 to 30, 2027.
Those final rounds will determine the remaining teams that qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
