CAF appoints Abdou Mefire to referee Al Ahly’s first meeting with him

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Cameroon’s Abdou Mefire as referee for Al Ahly’s Confederation Cup group-stage opener against Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto.

The match will be played on Sunday, 29 November at Cairo International Stadium, with Mefire taking charge of an Al Ahly fixture for the first time in his career.

Mefire has previously officiated two matches involving Zamalek. The Cairo club won one of those games and lost the other.

He has also refereed one match involving Egypt’s Under-20 side, against Tanzania at the Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations. Egypt won that match 1-0.

Mefire will be assisted by fellow Cameroonians Elvis Jai and Rodrigue Mbile, who will serve as the first and second assistant referees respectively. Antoine Max has been appointed as the fourth official.

Gabon’s Pierre Ghislan will oversee the video assistant referee (VAR) system, with Cameroon’s Karen Atizambong acting as the assistant VAR official.

Al Ahly are in Group A alongside Primeiro de Agosto, Togo’s ASKO Kara and Morocco’s Raja Casablanca.

The Egyptian side have won the Confederation Cup once, in 2014. They return to the competition after finishing third in last season’s Egyptian Premier League, collecting 53 points.