Akhoma Makalima: Meet First Female Referee Set For 2023 AFCON

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which is scheduled to take place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11 will birth a lot of first, one of such is Akhoma Makalima.

Akhoma Makalima is a FIFA badged female referee who is set to officiate in the forthcoming 2023 AFCON. In the history of the competition, a female referee has never officiated a game as a center referee.

Makalima is from South Africa and has been listed as a FIFA international referee since 2014. She was born on March 27, 1988, which means that she is currently 35 years old.

Before she went into professional refereeing, the official attended King Hintsa FET College, where she earned a National Diploma in human resource management.

Akhoma Makalima got to the height of her refereeing career when FIFA appointed her to the officiating pool for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Aside from being a FIFA badged referee, Makalima is very popular in South Africa as a female referee who officiates in the South African Premier Soccer League (men’s league).

Also, she is a respected match official in the South African Women’s League and an official of the South African Football Association (SAFA).

Other first in the 2023 AFCON:

Aside from Akhoma Makalima being on the verge of becoming the first female referee in AFCON this January, the forthcoming edition of the tournament will mark the first time the competition will be played in stadiums that are all fully roofed.

It will also mark the first edition of the competition where the winner of the tournament will walk away with the sum of $7 million as prize money.