With months to go to the Fifa World Cup, Qatar is dressing in its finest to host the biggest showpiece on earth in November and December, writes JEROME DAMON.
All 32 qualifiers are known, the final draw for the competition has been made and what’s left is the final selection of Team 33 – the Fifa contingent of match officials.
So, let’s look at the candidate refereeing teams from Africa.
We start up north. There are two strong trios from Morocco and Algeria. Mustapha Ghorbal from Algeria has, over the last two years, delivered very consistent and strong performances on the continent. He has been given all the top matches by the Caf, underlining the confidence they have in his abilities. He has also endeared himself to Fifa at their tournaments, so this strong and intelligent dentist may as well pack his bags for Qatar.
The Moroccan candidate, Redouane Jiyed, has also been very consistent over the last few years. He had a strong Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon where his last match was the hotly contested third-place play-off when the hosts ran out winners against Burkina Faso. He has the added advantage of being a very strong VAR too. The regular use of the system in the Moroccan league has clearly benefited Jiyed.
From the west we have the Senegalese Maguette Ndiaye from Dakar. This strapping and athletic match official has also been a consistent performer in continental matches, having refereed the 2021 Caf Champions League final.
He was, however, dogged by the controversy surrounding his awarding of a penalty to Ghana in their crucial last Group G qualifier against Bafana Bafana.
South Africa lodged a protest that ended up at the Fifa Disciplinary Committee. I doubt though, that Fifa will use this as a reason for his exclusion.
Another candidate from the west is the vastly experienced Papa Bakary Gassama from the Gambia. Papa, who was the No 1 ranked match official in Africa for five consecutive years, has the distinction of having officiated in every final match of every competition on the continent. He has been to two previous editions of the World Cup and looks set for a record third appearance.
From the east, we have the enigmatic Ethiopian, Bamlak Tessema. This wily referee has come into his own over the last two years. He has been a consistent performer in very tough matches and has whistled his way to successive semi-finals at Afcon, the Caf Champions League, as well as a Super Cup final in 2021.
He is a social media favourite with many memes and TikTok’s spoofing him. Fifa has always warmed to this kind of refereeing, making him almost a dead-cert for Qatar.
Central Africa is represented by the lithe Jean-Jacques Ndala from Lubumbashi in the DRC. This young French-speaking referee is without a doubt the fittest, which allows him to get around the field with consummate ease.
The south is represented by Janny Sikazwe of Zambia and our own Victor Gomes. Janny experienced a very difficult Afcon – many will remember him ending a match with 10 seconds to go so that he could be taken to the hospital to receive treatment for heatstroke and severe dehydration. Africa is very fortunate to still have him around as medical reports suggested that he was within minutes of not making it out of the stadium.
Then there is our very own Afcon 2021 final referee, Victor, who has far exceeded the expectations of Fifa and has firmly placed his name in the hat for finals selection. His long history of strong performances in African competitions and his performance in the tense Afcon final between Senegal and Egypt, where he produced a refereeing master class, makes him one of the favourites to go to Qatar.
When the final list is announced in a matter of weeks the hopes and dreams of some of these match officials will be realised. In the final analysis, I am privileged to work with these talented young men and happy that I remain their coach.