Zakazaka gets U-20 Afcon ‘call up’
Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed FAM competitions director Gomezgani Zakazaka as one of the match officials for the 2023 Egypt TotalEnergies Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The tournament kicks off this coming Sunday.
Zakazaka, who is expected to leave the country today, will be an assistant general coordinator at Suez Canal Stadium in Ismaillia between February 14 and March 6.
Suez Canal Stadium will host Group B matches. The pool comprises Uganda, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.
In an interview yesterday, Zakazaka said he is excited with the challenge as it will enhance his knowledge in international football match organisation.
He said: “I feel honoured with the appointment. This is my first CAF Afcon gig and it is a good platform for me to learn more about match organisation at that level.
“I would like to thank CAF for the recognition and opportunity to continue learning.
“I have organised matches at regional level with Cosafa [Council of Southern Africa Football Associations] and home matches for Malawi teams in Afcon, World Cup qualifiers and indeed CAF inter-club matches, but Afcon is another level.
“I look forward to the assignment and will give it my best shot to raise the profile of FAM and Malawi.”
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda congratulated Zakazaka for his appointment.
He said: “We are confident he will do a magnificent job.
“This shows that CAF holds our officials in high esteem for the good work they are doing. We are hopeful this will encourage other match officials to work hard to get to this point. Once again good luck to Gome.”
Zakazaka’s appointment comes barely a few days after assistant referee Clemence Kanduku officiated at the CAF TotalEnergies African Nations Championship in Algeria.
This will be a second high profile CAF assignment for Zakazaka, who was designated for the same role at the 2021 CAF Super Cup in Doha, Qatar.
In the past four years Zakazaka has been general goordinator at eight Cosafa competitions, including two men’s senior championships in 2021 and 2022.
