Kenyan Referee Josephine Wanjiku Wanjiru has received an invitation to participate in a FIFA Seminar for Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) prospective referees.The Women referee seminar is scheduled to take place from Monday 3 March to Friday 7 March 2025 in Doha, Qatar.##NAJAVA_MECA_8666894##Wanjiku is the only Kenyan referee and one of the only three from East Africa who will take part in the seminar that brings together 26 referees.Ugandan referee Shamira Nabadda and Rwandese Aline Umutoni are the other East African referees who have made it to the list.Priscilla Mburu using sports to encourage women towards breaking barriersCAF will have the majority of representation in the seminar with a total of 15 referees from across the continent, followed by AFC with nine, and only two from OFC.Wanjiku is one of the two Kenyan female FIFA-accredited referees in the country alongside Juma Lucy Awino.Kenya has a total of 16 FIFA-accredited match officials; one referee and Video Match Official, six center referees, and nine assistant referees.Two Kenyan match officials join 14 others as FIFA-accredited refereesOnly the 16 FIFA-accredited referees can officiate international matches whether for clubs or countries.To be accredited by FIFA, match officials are recommended by their host countries to CAF after they have been tried and tasted in their host countries.Match officials must meet the standards of excellence and Physical Endurance Tests (PET), and also undergo evaluations to assess knowledge on the laws of the game, performance in high-stake matches, and a recommendation from their local referee association.Three Kenyan referees have been appointed to officiate in the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) which will be hosted in Kenya Uganda and Tanzania from Saturday 2 August to Saturday 30 August 2025.They are: Peter Kamaku, Dickens Mimisa, and Samwel Kuria, who were appointed after attending a pre-tournament training evaluation course in December 2024 in Cairo, Egypt.Two Kenyan referees in line to referee in 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN)
