With less than two years to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, FIFA has organised a series of seminars for elite AFC, CAF and OFC referees who are prospects to take charge at future FIFA competitions.
Gambian referee Papa Gassama, who has officiated at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, is among the seven invited ones from Africa. Gassama has a very good chance of referring in the 2014 World Cup in Russia after a successful performance in the World Cup finals.
The seminar will begin today April 11, in Doha, Qatar and ends on April 15, 2016 and brings together prospective referees from three FIFA Confederations. The referees will go through a host of activities that includes theoretical sessions in the classroom as well as practical sessions on the field of play.
Gassama, 37, who was rated among the seven best referees at the 2014 World Cup finals with a rating of B+, was in January this year named 2015 African Referee of the Year, his second in a row, equalling the record held by Algerian Haimoudi Djamel who won in 2012 and 2013.
He soared to the prestigious award at the expense of Egyptian Ghead Zaglol Grisha, Janny Sikazwe of Zambia and Gabonese Eric Arnaud Otogo Castane. He was presented with his prize by CAF Executive Committee member, Magd Shams El Dine at the 2015 Glo-CAF Awards Gala on Thursday, 7 January 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Referee of the Year Award was decided by the votes of CAF Refereeing Committee. Gassama’s next target would be to become the first man to win three straight African Referee of the Year Awards and because of his current standing in the game, both at continental and global level, the Gambian could establish a monopoly that may prove very difficult to surmount.
Having become a FIFA referee in 2007, Papa Gassama has over the last eight years proved to be one of the foremost referees in world football. After refereeing in the 2012 Olympics in London, where he was the fourth official in the Gold Cup Match between eventual winners Mexico and Brazil, the Gambian officiated the Netherlands – Chile clash at the group phase of the 2014 World Cup.
Also in 2014, he refereed the CAF Champions League final second leg as well as games in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations. Gassama, who participated in his fourth consecutive African Cup of Nations finals in 2015, also refereed his third consecutive African Champions League in 2015.
