CIFA Press Release
The Cayman Islands Football Association is pleased to highlight its FIFA international referee panel for 2025. CIFA now boasts seven match officials on the world’s most prestigious refereeing panel.
The Cayman Islands has three referees on the international list, including Jonathon Hughes and Micheal Akangou as male referees and Kedeen Foster as the lone female referee. The three assistant referees are Kedlee Powell, Dwight Cummings and Deean Foster as the lone female assistant referee. The final member of the Cayman Islands FIFA International panel is Benjamin Whitty, who recently stepped down as an international referee to focus on VAR duties at the international level.
CIFA President Alfredo Whittaker and his football executives are indeed proud of this accomplishment. Since 2017, when Whittaker took over as President of the association, he has been working assiduously with the CIFA Refereeing Department to focus on the development of young and talented referees to advance to the international level.This vision has now materialized as Hughes and Akangou recently received their 2025 FIFA badges. They have been working not only in Cayman but have engaged with the CONCACAF Referee Academy and the Caribbean Football Union Next Generation Referee programs, which are designed to help shape the pathway for young talented referees within the CONCACAF Member Associations.
The three Assistant Referees — Powell, Cummings and Deean Foster —have been associated with the FIFA international panel for several years and continue to receive international appointments quite frequently. Kedeen Foster will now be serving her third year on the international panel as a referee, and CIFA hopes she will grow from strength to strength and advance to a Youth World Cup or senior Women’s World Cup in the not-too-distant future.
The Cayman Islands does not use VAR in its local football matches; however, Whitty is ascendingto new heights as a second-year VAR match official. He has officiated as VAR in the semifinal and final matches of several CONCACAF tournaments and his future looks bright for 2025.
CIFA Director of Refereeing Livingston Bailey is quite delighted with the advancement of the CIFA International refereeing group and looks forward to furthering their development for even greater advancement. He also highlights the importance of training and development for younger referees to fill the gaps of youthfulness in the referee fraternity
