FIFA release shortlist of referees to officiate at the World Cup
Top African referee Bakary Gassama shortlisted for World Cup in Qatar
The Federation of International Football(FIFA) has named eight African referees on the list of match officials shortlisted for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
The World's football governing body list released on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, has 36 center referees, 63 assistant referees, and 36 VAR officials.
The eight African officials named in the preliminary list include Bakary Gassama from Gambia, Jean Jacques Ndala from RD Congo, Mustapha Ghorbal from Algeria, Redouane Jiyed from Morocco, Balmak Tessema from Ethiopia, Victor Gomez from South Africa, Janny Sikazwe from Zambia, and Maquette Ndiaye from Senegal.
All eight referees officiated at the 2021 African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon.
Only two of the shortlisted names have officiated at the World Cup before, that is Gassama and Sikazwe.
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Gassama,43, made his World Cup debut in 2014 when he officiated Group B clash between Netherlands and Chile. Whereas Sikazwe, 42, made his debut in 2018, officiating two games in the group stages, Belgium against Panama and Japan against Poland.
The final list for the tournament will be announced a month before the intercontinental competition kicks off in November 2022.
Africa will be represented by five countries including Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, and Morocco.
