A novice for a shock. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has chosen Cameroonian referee Abdou Abdel Mefire to lead the group stage meeting of the 2025 African Cup of Nations between Morocco and Mali, at the Prince Moulay Abdallah stadium in Rabat this Friday evening (9 p.m.).
At only 29 years old, he is the youngest central referee of CAN 2025 and is therefore preparing to officiate his first match of his career in the competition. During the first day, he played the role of 4th referee in the match between Tunisia and Uganda on Tuesday (won 3-1 by the Tunisians).
He refereed the CHAN final this summer
The official is the rising star of African refereeing: he particularly distinguished himself during the African Nations Championship this summer in Kenya, where he refereed four matches including the final won by Morocco against Madagascar (2-3). He also officiated in the final of the U20 African Cup of Nations, also won by the Lion Cubs of the Atlas in May. He appeared three times during the U17 World Cup in November.
For today’s meeting between Morocco and Mali, he will be accompanied by Congolese Styven Moutsassi Moyo and Chany Yanes Malondi on the sidelines. The 4th referee will be the Mauritanian Abdel Aziz Bouh. Haythem Guirat (Tunisia) and Babacar Sarr (Mauritania) will act as video assistants.
