Malawian refs assigned CAF game in Zambia
Malawian referees Alfred Chilinda, Clemence Kanduku, Edward Kambatuwa and Ishmael Chizinga will officiate the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup between Zambia’s Green Buffaloes and South Sudan’s El-Merriekh Juba tomorrow.
Chilinda is the centre referee with Kanduku as his first assistant, Kambatuwa is second assistant referee while Ishmael Chizinga is the reserve referee.
Namibian Erastus Shilunga is match commissioner for the preliminary round first leg game to be played at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) referees development officer Maxwell Mtonga says the appointment justifies that Malawian referees are up to the task.
“The appointment of our referees for international assignments just shows that CAF and Fifa do appreciate that Malawi has good referees,” he said.
The referees’ development officer also applauded the current crop of youthful referees who have emerged on the domestic scene.
“When we look at the Alfred Chilinda, Ishmael Chizinga and Edward Kambatuwa—all these are youngsters and they are very good which shows that their future is promising,” Mtonga said.
Kanduku, who was the only Malawian referee selected for this year’s Cosafa Cup in South Africa, said the appointment is an honour.
“The appointment doesn’t come on a silver platter because we have many Fifa referees not only in Malawi but also across the continent,” he said.
Meanwhile, two assistant referees—Feston Kusekuse and Happiness Mbandambanda—are also in the officiating panel for the Regional Five games scheduled for December 7-16 December in Botswana.
