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Siwela cracks nod for Under-20 World Cup

Zakhele Siwela has been appointed to the list of officials for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand in another assignment that strengthens his chances of working at the next World Cup in Russia.

Siwela was on the shortlist for the last World Cup in Brazil but was dropped at the last moment.

The 32-year-old has been on the Fifa panel for six years and in 2011 he went to the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Mexico.

Siwela worked at the last three Africa Cup of Nations finals and in the latest edition in Equatorial Guinea got as far as running the line for one of the semifinals. Since the retirement of Enoch Molefe, he is widely regarded as the country's best linesman.

Appointments to the tournament in New Zealand also surprisingly include the Seychelles referee Bernard Camille, who gained infamy two years ago as the official who awarded a host of dubious decisions against Orlando Pirates in the controversial African Champions League match against the DR Congo's TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi.

He gave two penalties in a performance most observers thought was blatantly one-sided against the South Africans and it was only the goalkeeping heroics of the late Senzo Meyiwa that allowed Pirates to advance.

The 24-team tournament in New Zealand runs from May 30- June 20 and is used as a testing ground for prospective World Cup finals appointments.