BEVERLY HILLS, February 06, (THEWILL) – Ahead of the final of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has given Kenyan referee Peter Waweru Kamaku the charge of officiating the last battle for the trophy. The match will be a contention between defending champions Morocco and Mali and will be live on Sunday, February 7, at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
Kamaku, who is a lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), was the first Kenyan to become a centre referee. He will lead the team of match officials as the curtains fall on the sixth edition of the continental tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues.
THEWILL recalls that Kamaku was among 27 referees selected by CAF to officiate at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. At this CHAN, he had earlier officiated the quarter-final clash between Mali and Congo that Mali needed penalties to win 5-4 after regulation time ended in a goalless deadlock.
The Kenyan academic will be assisted by compatriot Gilbert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Cameroonian Carine Atezambong Fomo. Another Cameroonian, Alioum Alioum, will be the fourth official for the final.
For the Video Assistant Referees, the VAR team will be led by Bamlak Tessema Weyesa of Ethiopia, and supported by Zambia’s Janny Sikazwe and the Cameroonian Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue.
Morocco, the defending champions of CHAN, who took the trophy on home soil in 2018, is hoping to become the first team to both win and successfully defend the title in the history of the competition since its inception in 2009. Their challengers for the 2021 honour, Mali, have set their sights on a maiden title as fair consolation for losing the last final to DR Congo in Kigali, Rwanda in 2016.
These dynamics together make the final for CHAN 2021 a must see extravaganza for football fans on the continent in general and those who follow domestic football in particular. Those in Morocco and Mali will be pushing for their respective countries to clinch the continental prize for all the prestige and accolades that come with victory and the accompanying bragging rights.
The Total CHAN Cameroon competition is the first major football event on the continent following the COVID-19 pandemic. And it is to the honour of the Cameroonian handlers that it was well organised and free from the dreaded outbreak of the ravaging pandemic.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
