Football: Total Energies Caf Champions League   |21 August 2023

Referee Yocette (centre) in action during a local match (Photo: Contributed)

Referee Keren Yocette to lead local trio on continental duty

In only his second year as a Fédération internationale de Football Association official, local referee Keren Yocette has been assigned the task to officiate the second leg preliminary round Total Energies Caf Champions League match between Djabal FC of the Comoros and giants Orlando Pirates of South Africa.

In the return leg match scheduled for Friday August 25 at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, referee Yocette will be assisted by compatriots Hensley Petrousse and Stephen Dugasse, while Dlamini Thokozani of Eswatini will be the match’s fourth official.

The call-up is Yocette’s seventh international appearance after performing five times as a fourth official and once as central referee.

Determined and focused, Yocette said he is looking forward to the challenge and is anticipating a good performance with the ambition of getting other call-ups as the competition progresses.

He explained that the recently-held Fédération internationale de Football Association (Fifa) Members Association (MA) referees refresher course has boosted his arsenal for the upcoming challenge.

Referee Yocette further noted that during his first year as a Fifa official, he was more or less in the learning process, but now he is going all out to show his ability as he aims to become one of the best not only at regional and continental level, but also on the world stage if given the chance.

Yocette took up officiating in 2007 after joining a school programme for young referees, and has been climbing up the ranks ever since.

Speaking on the ever-changing rules, regulations and the introduction of technology into officiating, referee Yocette noted that those features are just additional materials to help the officials take better decisions during matches.

He explained that the crucial and final decisions will always remain the responsibility of the man with the whistle.

The Caf Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the Total Energies Caf Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organised by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and contested by top division African clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout stage, and then a home and away final.

It is the most prestigious club competition in African football.

The winners of the tournament earn a berth for the Fifa Club World Cup, a tournament contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, and also face the winners of the Caf Confederation Cup in the following season's Caf Super Cup.

Clubs who finish as runners-up in their national leagues, having not qualified for the Champions League, are eligible for the second-tier Caf Confederation Cup.

Egyptian clubs have the highest number of victories (17 titles), followed by Morocco with seven in the Caf Champions League.

Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco have the largest number of winning teams, with three clubs from each having won the title. The competition has been won by 26 clubs, 12 of which have won it more than once.

Al Ahly are the most successful club in the competition's history, having won the tournament a record 11 times.

They are the current African champions, having beaten Wydad AC 3–2 on aggregate in the 2023 final.

Roland Duval