Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala has been appointed to officiate the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed on Saturday.
Ndala was named by the CAF Referees Committee to take charge of the tournament’s curtain-raiser between the hosts Morocco national football team, and the Comoros national football team. The match is scheduled for Sunday, December 21, with kick-off set for 8:00 p.m. local time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The experienced Congolese official, who has handled several high-profile continental fixtures in recent years, will be supported by an international refereeing team selected by CAF for the opening game of the tournament.
CAF also confirmed that video assistant refereeing duties for the match will be handled by Mauritanian referee Dahane Beida, one of Africa’s most respected VAR officials.
The Morocco–Comoros encounter will officially signal the start of the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, with the hosts aiming to begin their campaign strongly in front of a packed home crowd in Rabat.
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