THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Malian referee Boubou Traore to officiate the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final between Egyptian side Al Masry and Tanzania’s Simba SC.

The match is set to take place on April 2 at the New Suez Canal Stadium in Egypt, where Simba will be looking to secure a crucial away victory. 

Traore (pictured), born on March 3, 1989, is an experienced referee with a track record that suggests visiting teams often face a tough challenge under his officiating.

Traore has officiated 25 international matches, with home teams winning 17 of those encounters. Away teams have secured victories in only six games, while two matches have ended in draws. 

His disciplinary record also indicates a strict approach, as he has issued 86 yellow cards and four red cards in his officiating career.

Tanzanian football fans will recall Traore as the referee who officiated Young African’s (Yanga) impressive 4-0 victory over Algeria’s CR Belouizdad in the CAF Champions League group stage on February 24, 2024. That result helped Young Africans advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.

This will be the fourth time Traore has officiated an Al Masry match in an international tournament.

His first match in charge of Al Masry was a thrilling 3-2 away win over Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage (Group A) on December 1, 2019.

In the quarter-finals of the same competition, Traore oversaw Al Masry’s 2-1 home victory against Morocco’s RS Berkane in the first leg on April 17, 2022.

More recently, he was the referee for Al Masry’s 2-0 home win against Nigeria’s Enyimba in the group stage (Group D) of the current CAF Confederation Cup, played on November 27, 2024.

Simba secured their place in the quarter-finals after finishing as Group A winners with 13 points. Meanwhile, Al Masry finished second in Group D with nine points, behind Egyptian rivals Zamalek, the defending champions of the 2023-2024 tournament.

The upcoming encounter will be the third meeting between Simba and Al Masry in recent years. Their last meetings were in the first round of the CAF Confederation Cup in 2018. 

In the first leg in Dar es Salaam, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw on March 7, 2018. The return leg in Egypt ended goalless (0-0) on March 17, 2018, with Simba progressing on the away goals rule.

Simba’s consistency in CAF competitions has been remarkable, as they have now reached the quarter-finals in six of the last seven seasons since 2018. 

This includes two appearances in the CAF Confederation Cup and four in the CAF Champions League.

This season marks the second time Simba have topped their group in continental competition. The first instance was in the 2020-2021 CAF Champions League, when they finished as Group A leaders with 13 points. 

They were ahead of Egypt’s Al Ahly, who finished second with 11 points, while DR Congo’s AS Vita Club (7 points) and Sudan’s Al Merrikh (2 points) were eliminated.

That season, Simba advanced to the quarter-finals but were eliminated by South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs, losing 4-3 on aggregate.

With their rich continental experience, Simba will aim to break their away-team struggles under Traore’s officiating and gain an advantage before the return leg in Dar es Salaam.