The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed a selection of the continent’s top referees to officiate the two-legged final between Zamalek and USM Alger in the 2026 CAF Confederation Cup.
The first leg is scheduled to take place at the Stade du 5 Juillet on Saturday, May 9, and will be officiated by renowned Mauritanian referee Dahmane Beida.
Beida will be assisted by Angolan Gilson dos Santos as first assistant referee, Cameroonian Elvis Noupoue as second assistant referee, and Mauritanian Abdel Aziz Bouh as fourth official.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team will consist of Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea, assisted by Mauritanian Boubacar Sarr as first assistant referee, and Kenyan referee Mimasa Deskins.
The second leg will be played at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday, May 16. The referee for this match will be Pierre Etchou of Gabon, assisted by his compatriot Boris Marlisa as first assistant, Amos Ndong as second assistant, and Patrick Bamiah as fourth official.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team will be managed by Tunisian referee Haitham Guirat, assisted by two female assistant referees: Maria Rivett from Mauritius and Karine Foumou from Cameroon.
Several meetings will be held in the coming period between CAF officials and the organizers of the second leg to prevent any organizational problems like those that occurred in 2024 at Cairo International Stadium.
CAF imposed a hefty fine of $200,000 on Zamalek and ordered them to play four matches behind closed doors following the incidents that occurred during the trophy presentation after their victory over RS Berkane in the 2024 final.
