Rwanda international football referee Louis Hakizimana has been named among the match officials to handle the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals tournament. The continent’s biggest football tournament is scheduled for June 21 to July 19 in Egypt. The line-up of referees at this year’s edition of the biennial competition has attracted a record 20 nationalities from across the continent. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Tuesday that the selected referees will have a preparatory course from April 28 to May 5 in Morocco. Hakizimana is likely to be among the referees who will be operating the VAR technology during the tournament following his recent training on the handling and technological aspects of the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in South Africa last month. VAR assists the centre referee in reviewing decisions with the use of footage of the incident in question. The technology was employed during the 2018 FIFA World Cup following trials in a number of major competitions. Hakizimana, Rwanda’s most experienced referee, has over the last ten years handled big matches in various competitions including the CAF Champions League, the Confederation Cup, Africa Olympic Games qualifiers, Africa U-20 Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers. However, it will be his first time to officiate at the senior AFCON finals tournament, and also the first Rwandan to do so. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
