The Confederation of African Football has appointed top grade FIFA referee, Koman Coulibaly of Mali, to take charge of the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifying match between Liberia and Nigeria in Monrovia on September 8.
The game, which is the first leg of a two-leg fixture, comes up at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in the Liberian capital.
Coulibaly, an old horse and one of the most respected referees in Africa, has officiated at five African Cup of Nations finals (since the 2002 finals in Mali) and was at the centre for the 2010 final in Angola between Ghana and Egypt, which the Pharaohs won 1-0 in Luanda.
Born on July 4, 1970, Koulibaly, who has a degree in Legal and Economic Sciences from the University of Bamako, was also at the centre for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals group stage match between United States and Slovenia in South Africa, which ended 2-2.
A financial enforcement officer for the government of Mali, Coulibaly officiated his first international match on April 19, 2000.
It was a friendly between Mali and Burkina Faso.
The first Assistant Referee, Bala Diarra, was born in 1974 and has been an international assistant referee since 2007.
Drissa Kamory Niare, the second Assistant Referee, was born in 1980 and became an international only this year.
The Reserve Referee, Ousmane Karembe, was born in 1972 and has been an international referee since 2005.
Three other eminent Nigerians will be on duty the same weekend.
Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba, former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation and now Director of Federations and Elite Athletes Department at the National Sports Commission, has been appointed Match Commissioner for the high-octane clash between Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal in Abidjan.
FIFA Referees Inspector, Mr. Linus Mba, will be Match Commissioner for the tie between Ghana’s Black Stars and the Flames of Malawi in Kumasi.
Nigerian Assistant Referee, Peter Elgam Edibe, 42, who has been an international since 2004, will be 2nd Assistant Referee for the clash between Sudan and Ethiopia in Omdurman.