The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the line up of officials ahead of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations clash between Nigeria and Senegal.
The African football governing body has appointed Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed as the lead official for the Group A clash between the two West African nations at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday.
The 35-year-old referee will be assisted by fellow North Africans in assistant referees Mohamed Bakir (Tunisia) and Hamza Bouzit (Algeria), while Clement Franklin Kpan (Ivory Coast) will be the fourth official.
According to CAF, Hussein Jenayah (Tunisia) has also been appointed as the match commissioner, Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi) as the referee assessor, and finally Imade El Fahouss (Morocco) as the game’s general coordinator.
The match between the Flying Eagles and Senegal will kick off at 6pm (Nigerian time), with the opening game between hosts Egypt and Mozambique set for three hours earlier at the same venue.
Flying Eagles first training session in Cairo on Friday morning at the Jewel Sports City & Aqua Resorts training pitch. #SoarFlyingEagles #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/jGcO5V6PGc
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) February 17, 2023
The Ladan Bosso-led team had a training session on Friday at the Jewel Hotel training field after arriving Cairo. They are expected to have another session later today as they prepare for Sunday’s opener.
Belgium-based forward Ahmed Abdullahi joined up with the Flying Eagles’ squad in Cairo on Friday. Abdullahi, who was part of the team that was crowned as WAFU Zone B champions during last year’s qualifiers, is expected to undergo training with the team today and also provide coach Bosso with more firepower upfront.
Seven-time champions Nigeria will be hoping to win an eighth continental title, while the Senegalese are gunning for the nation’s maiden title in this tournament.
The final four teams remaining in the 12-nation tournament will qualify as Africa’s representatives at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.
