Godfrey Nkhakananga will lead the officiating team as centre referee
* Four assigned to officiate the match between Eritrea and Guinea on November 16 at Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt
* Referee assessors appointed for matches involving Zambia and Burkina Faso and Kenya v South Africa
By Duncan Mlanjira
Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed seven Malawian match officials to officiate in the November 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Pamoja 2027 qualifying matches.
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Four referees have been assigned to officiate the match between Eritrea and Guinea on November 16 at Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
FAM Media reports that Godfrey Nkhakananga will lead the officiating team as centre referee, assisted by Tembo Pondamali and Samuel Fudzulani as first and second assistant referees, respectively.
Easter Zimba will be the fourth official for the match, while two referee assessors have been appointed for matches involving Zambia and Burkina Faso, as well as Kenya and South Africa.
Michael Makoto is the referee assessor for the qualifier between Zambia and Burkina Faso at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, on November 15.
Bernadettar Kwimbira is the referee assessor for the encounter between Kenya and South Africa at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on November 17.
FAM indicates that it will continue “to support the development of match officials as part of its efforts to improve refereeing standards and increase Malawi’s representation in international football competitions”.
During the official launch match of the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) U23 District Championship at Rumphi Stadium a team of young match officials over the weekend, a team of young match officials officiated the match, highlighting the development of refereeing talent in Malawi.
The team was led by 21-year-old Martha Kapira, assisted by 15-year-old Tadala Kamanga and 13-year-old Tambilire Chimimba, with 16-year-old Peter Mkwala completing the officiating team.
Last month FAM conducted a two-day special female referees course in Salima as part of efforts to promote gender inclusivity in football refereeing.
FAM Media quoted Referees Sub-Committee chairperson Patrick Kapanga indicating that the course was aimed at empowering more women to take up refereeing roles and strengthen their capacity to officiate matches at different levels of the game.
Kapanga said the course was important as FAM continues to invest in women’s football development in line with president Fleetwood Haiya’s Women’s Football Project.
“This course is very important because the Scorchers qualified for WAfCON, and these are the referees who handle almost 80% of their games at local level,” Kapanga is quoted as saying by FAM Media.
