Rabat — The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named Malian referee Boubou Traoré to officiate the Morocco vs Tanzania Round of 16 match at AFCON 2025 in Morocco, continuing the practice of assigning experienced African officials to key knockout games.

Traoré will lead the direct elimination match on Sunday, January 4, at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, with Senegalese referee Issa Sy serving as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Boubou Traoré is an experienced Malian official who has been a regular in CAF competitions, like the Champions League and past AFCON tournaments.

In him for the game, CAF shows they have a lot of confidence in his ability to manage big, important matches across Africa. He’s already been busy in this AFCON. He was the referee for Nigeria vs Tunisia and was the fourth official for the Angola vs Egypt game and has officiated other matches too. This means he understands how fast-paced and demanding this tournament is.

Key stats and results from the group stage

Morocco is heading into the Round of 16 as the top team in their group (Group A), wrapping up the stage with a solid seven points.

They started things off with a clean 2–0 win against Comoros, then had a 1–1 draw with Mali, and finished strong with a 3–0 victory over Zambia. This whole performance really confirms that they are one of the top favorites to go all the way in the tournament.

Tanzania has made history by reaching the Round of 16 for the very first time. The Taifa Stars moved forward in the tournament because they were one of the top third-placed teams.

Their journey started with a 2–1 loss to Nigeria, but they bounced back with 1–1 draws against both Uganda and Tunisia, which was enough to secure their historic spot in the knockout round.

Traoré’s assignment comes at a time when everyone is really paying attention to the refereeing at this AFCON. Some calls in the tournament have already caused a lot of talk and controversy, including disciplinary action against players for insulting officials and at least one referee admitting to a significant error during a group-stage match.

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