Somalia Referee To Officiate The Champions League Final
Sportswire has learned that Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will officiate the second leg of the CAF Champions League final between Mamelodi Sundowns and FAR Rabat in Morocco on Sunday.
Artan will take charge of the decisive encounter at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat, where Sundowns will look to defend the slender 1-0 advantage they secured in the first leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium last weekend. Aubrey Modiba scored the winning goal in Pretoria to hand the Brazilians a crucial lead heading into the return fixture.
The first leg was officiated by Congolese referee Jean Ndala and experienced an unusual delay before the start of the second half due to technical issues with the VAR system. The system was eventually restored later in the second half.
Interestingly, Artan also officiated a CAF Champions League final involving Sundowns last season, when the South African giants lost to Pyramids FC in the second leg of the competition’s final.
Artan’s latest appointment adds to a remarkable rise in African football officiating. In 2025, he officiated matches at the Africa Cup of Nations and was later named CAF Men’s Referee of the Year — a historic achievement for Somali football.
The Somali official has also been selected to officiate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first referee from Somalia to be appointed to football’s biggest tournament.
Born in Mogadishu during Somalia’s civil war, Artan rose through the ranks of local football despite limited resources and opportunities in a sporting system heavily affected by decades of conflict and instability.
His consistent performances eventually earned him a place on FIFA’s international referees list in 2018, positioning him among a select group of Somali professionals operating at the highest level of global football.
Somalia’s football sector has faced significant challenges over the years, including interrupted domestic competitions and periods of suspension involving the country’s football federation, factors that limited development opportunities for both players and match officials.
As a result, Artan’s rise has been widely viewed as a symbol of resilience, professionalism, and Somalia’s gradual re-emergence on the international sporting stage.
