Fifa and Caf licensed referees Michelle Gasingwa and Desire Bamporiki have been short listed to officiate at the 16th African youth championship due to be held in Kigali in January, 2009. Both Gasingwa and Bamporiki were selected by Rwanda football body, Ferwafa to join other continental referees yet to be named to officiate at the forthcoming African youth championship. The Ferwafa Chief Executive Officer Jules Kalisa told Times Sport yesterday that the pair will be among other African referees who will officiate at the championship. “We selected the pair on Caf’s request and its official the pair will be the only Rwandan referees at the tournament next year,” Kalisa said. Gasingwa will be the centre referee while Bamporiki was named as an assistant referee. The pair officiated at the second round of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and their performance earned a call to feature at the continental youth championship set for January 18-February 1, 2009. Hosts Rwanda Mali, Cameroon and Ghana are drawn in Group A while South Africa is drawn in group B against favorite winners, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and FIFA Under-20 World Cup hosts Egypt. Rwanda opens the competition against Mali at Amahoro stadium on January 18, 2009 before another cracker sees Ghana taking on arch rivals Cameroon. The Caf African Youth Championship is a major international football competition for Caf nations, played by Under 20 year-old players. The Caf U-20 African Championship is held every two years with the top 4 teams qualifying for the Fifa World Youth Championship. Until 1989 the African representatives were determined purely on a qualifying basis with no African title on the line. Since 1991 there has been a qualifying stage followed by a final tournament played by 8 teams in a chosen country. Countries in the draw: The winner of the African youth championship will automatically qualify to the finals of the 2009 Youth World Cup due in Cairo, Egypt. Congo Brazzaville won last edition title which was held on its home soil after overcoming Nigeria 1-0 in the final game. Ends
