Football-Referee Maillet invited to officiate in Vodacom Challenge tournament |22 July 2005

Invited by the tournament organisers, Maillet will take charge of either the final or the third place play-off match on Sunday at the ABSA Stadium.

The participating teams are Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa), AS Vita Club (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Green Buffaloes (Zambia).

It is to note that Maillet refereed the 2003 final of the same tournament between TP Mazembe and Kaizer Chiefs which the latter won on penalties.

Meanwhile, Maillet will lead a local trio to Sudan to take charge of the African group C combined World Cup 2006 and African Nations Cup 2006 qualifier between Sudan and Benin on Wednesday August 17.

The three other officials who will make the trip are Jacques André, Jason Damoo and Walter Spiro.

Benin and Sudan have two points each after two draws and five defeats in seven matches to hold fifth and sixth places on the six-team table.

Ivory Coast, led by Chelsea’s striker Didier Drogba, lead the group with six wins, a draw and a loss in eight outings for 19 points.
Cameroon are second on 17 points, followed by Egypt (third with 13 points) and Libya (fourth with 11 points).

The five winners of each group qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, while the top three finishers in each group qualify for the 2006 African Nations Cup in Egypt.

Sports Nation has also learned that Frenchman Serge Deveze has quit as Benin's national team coach at the end of his contract.

Deveze had been in charge of the west African country's national team for just two matches since his appointment in February.

He was at the helm when Benin's under-20 side surprisingly qualified for last month's World Youth Championship in the Netherlands but they did not progress beyond the first round.

In his two matches with the senior side, Benin lost 3-0 to the Ivory Coast in March and were beaten 4-1 at home by Cameroon in their last World Cup qualifier in June.

Benin have now been through three coaches in the last 18 months.

G. G.