Football: 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |29 March 2025

Referee Yocette during the Caf training programme in Ivory Coast (Photo: Contributed)

Referee Keren Yocette on the roster

Local official Keren Yocette is among the officials called up for the forthcoming 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations also known as TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled for Morocco from March 30 to April 19.

The biennial African youth football tournament is organised by the Confédération Africaine de Football (Caf) for players aged 17 and below.

Morocco was chosen as the host of the tournament on December 16, 2024 at the annual Caf executive committee meeting, alongside the 2024 Caf Awards ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco where Caf appointed the country as host.

The top 10 teams will qualify for the 2025 Fifa U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the Caf representatives.

Speaking to Sports NATION, referee Yocette said his first international match this year was a game between MC Alger and Young Africans in the Caf Champions League where he was the fourth official, before travelling to the Ivory Coast where he attended Caf training built specifically for young talented referees.

Along with the 30 other selected referees, he learned different techniques, through mini matches as well as video assistant referee (Var).

Other aspects of the training included physical fitness test, video test and theory tests.

He said it was only after a week spent in Ivory Coast that he learned about his call-up for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, along with a World Cup qualifying match between Ethiopia and Egypt where he was the fourth official.

“The processes of our domestic football and international football are the same in terms of principle, but internationally they are much more organised and modern,” said referee Yocette, adding that when he steps on pitches away from home, one thing that stands out is the pace at which the game is played which is much faster than ours and the players are technically better.

“Personally, I continue to motivate myself to train and maintain a consistent high standard as a referee in all competitions. I always try to improve by reviewing my mistakes, since as a referee, you always need to keep yourself updated,” he said.

Referee Yocette added that since refereeing is more tactical nowadays, he makes it a must before a match to review the teams’ playing styles so he can understand and adapt himself.

Samuel Nalletamby