2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup: 12 African referees selected
FIFA officially announced on Tuesday its list of referees for the upcoming edition of the U-17 World Cup. For the edition scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 19 to December 13, 81 officials have been selected, including 27 referees and 54 assistant referees.
Strong African representation
The African continent will be represented by 12 officials, including four referees and eight assistant referees. Among the referees, the Confederation of African Football will be represented by Nigeria's Abdulsalam Kasimu Abiola, Morocco's Mohammed El Baroudi, Cameroon's Willie Ngeh and Senegal's El Hadji Amadou Sy.
The assistant referees are Ivory Coast's Médard Étienne, Rwanda's Emmanuel Habumugisha, Morocco's Abdessamad Aberton, Algeria's Yassine Ouard Ben Salama, DR Congo's Guélan Nguila, Cameroon's Vincent Nkemazim, DR Congo's Vital Mabandgolo and Burkina Faso's Adolphe Lamine.
10 African teams at the starting line
On the pitch, Africa will be represented by 10 teams as they attempt to succeed Germany in the U-17 World Cup. The qualified teams are Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.