Football: African Nations Football championship (Chan 2022) Final |04 February 2023

Petrousse

Seychellois Hensley Petrousse to officiate today’s final

After officiating in two group stage matches, as well as in the quarterfinal, local referee assistant Hensley Petrousse has been called up for this afternoon’s final of the African Nations Football championship (Chan 2022) between hosts Algeria and Senegal.

Petrousse is the only Seychellois official picked in the capacity of assistant referee in the list of 52 officials representing 32 of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) member associations.

Initially scheduled for 2022, the Chan started on January 13 and ends today with the final in Algeria. Matches were played across four cities including Algiers, Constantine, Oran and Annaba.

In the group stages of the competition, Petrousse officiated the match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, along with the Libya v Ethiopia clash, while being involved in the quarterfinal between Niger and Ghana.

It is Pierre Ghislain Atcho of Gabon who will be whistling today’s final, assisted by Petrousse and Adou Hermann Desiré N’Goh of the Ivory Coast.

“I am very happy to have been appointed for the final of the second biggest nations competition in Africa. I thank each and everyone who have supported me in one way or another, my family, friends, instructors and God Almighty,” Petrousse told Sports NATION yesterday.

Petrousse has been involved with refereeing since 2003 and was inscribed onto the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) list in 2009.

The Chan 2022 is Petrousse’s second appearance at the competition after officiating at the 2016 Chan in Rwanda.

He also officiated at various Confédération Africaine de Football (Caf) competition matches, including Champions League and Confederation Cup.

The 2022 African Nations Championship, known as Chan 2022 for short and the Total Energies African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, is the seventh biennial association football tournament organised by Caf, featuring national teams consisting of players currently playing in their respective local leagues.

Originally scheduled for July 10 to August 1, 2022, Caf rescheduled the tournament to January 2023 following an announcement at an executive committee meeting, due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa as well as the already-scheduled 2022 Fifa World Cup in November – December 2022.

Eighteen teams were supposed to be contesting in this edition, which would have been an increase of two teams from the previous competition in 2020, but defending champions Morocco decided not to take part in the tournament based on political reasons since the Algerian airspace is closed to Moroccan planes and flights due to the diplomatic breakup between the two countries in 2021.

With Morocco's absence, Tunisia being banned, while Libya and DR Congo eliminated from the group stage, for the first time, a new champion will be decided in the tournament.

Hosts Algeria will play in their first Chan final after easing past Niger 5-0 in Tuesday's (January 31) semifinal.

USM Alger striker Aymen Mahious bagged a brace in the contest, with goals from Ayoub Abdellaoui, Sofiane Bayazid and an own goal from Boureima Katakoré securing the Fennec Foxes' passage to the final.

The other semifinal between Senegal and Madagascar was a much tighter affair, but a fifth-minute goal from Pape Diallo was enough to see the Lions of Terranga progress to their first final in the competition's history.

Compiled by Roland Duval

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Petrousse