Egyptian referee Shahenda El Maghraby has been appointed to take charge of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final between Cameroon and Malawi, in a landmark moment for Egyptian and Arab women’s refereeing.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) referees’ committee selected El Maghraby as the referee for the tournament’s showpiece match. Her appointment was announced on Sunday by the media centre of the Egyptian Football Association.
El Maghraby will be supported by a multinational officiating team for the meeting between Cameroon and Malawi. Mauritius’ Quincy Claudia Victoria has been named first assistant referee, while Tunisia’s Huda Afine will serve as the second assistant.
Amadoum Venezia has been appointed fourth official, with Benin’s Nafissatou Yacine taking the role of reserve referee.
The video assistant referee team will be led by Tunisian official Dorsaf Ganouati. She will be assisted by Morocco’s Zakaria Bachtaoui and Leticia Antonella Viana.
Senegalese official Fatou Gaye has been selected as referee observer for the final.
El Maghraby’s selection represents a significant achievement for Egyptian football and a historic step for women’s refereeing in both Egypt and the Arab world. She will become the first Egyptian and Arab female referee to officiate a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final since the competition began.
Her appointment therefore creates a new milestone in the history of the tournament and marks an unprecedented accomplishment for Egyptian and Arab women officials. It also places an Egyptian referee at the centre of the continent’s most important match in the women’s international game.
The final between Cameroon and Malawi will provide the setting for El Maghraby’s historic assignment, with the full officiating crew bringing together representatives from Egypt, Mauritius, Tunisia, Benin, Morocco and Senegal.
CAF’s decision means Egypt will have a leading role in the final through El Maghraby’s appointment as the match referee. The supporting officials will cover the assistant referee, fourth official, reserve referee and video review responsibilities, while the referee observer will oversee the performance of the officiating team.
For El Maghraby, the occasion will be remembered as a defining moment in her career and as a breakthrough for women referees from Egypt and the wider Arab region. No Egyptian or Arab woman had previously been appointed to referee a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
Her selection completes a historic achievement for Egyptian refereeing, even as the focus remains on the final contest between Cameroon and Malawi. The match will be managed by an officiating team selected by CAF, with El Maghraby at its head and Ganouati leading the VAR operation.
