The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has tasked Botswana referee Joshua Bondo to officiate AFCON Group L qualifier between the Cheetahs of Benin and Amavubi of Rwanda that will take place at the Stade de l'Amitie in Cotonou March 22. Bondo, 44, will be the centre referee of the game when the pair face off in the first leg of the qualifiers and he will be assisted by his fellow countrymen Mogomotsi Morakile, Kitso Sibanda and Tshepo Mogani Gobagoba as the fourth official. Bondo, who started officiating CAF games in 2010, is one of the best referees in the COSAFA (Council of Southern Africa Football Associations) region and has as a result been to four AFCON tournaments. He previously officiated the 2015 U20 AFCON final between Senegal and Nigeria on March 22, 2015. Rwanda sit third in Group L, having collected just 1 point from two games, and will be looking forward to beating bottom-placed Benin, who are winless in their past two outings. Carlos Alos Ferrer’s men drew 1-1 with Mozambique before losing 1-0 to Senegal. A double over Benin will brighten their chances of making it to the AFCON finals in Cote D'Ivoire in January 2024 which would be their second participation since their maiden appearance in 2004 in Tunisia.
