Gambian
international referee Bakary Gassama is set to officiate at next month’s Fifa
Confederation Cup finals in Russia.
The
37-year-old got included in the list after being chosen by Fifa referees
sub-committee for the tournament.
He
is among nine other high profile referees from across the globe who will
officiate at the finals.
This
development came hot on the heels of Gassama’s decoration as the most
outstanding sports personality of the year by the Sports Journalists
Association of The Gambia, (SJAG).
The
SJAG award is meant to honour the achievement of past and present sports men
and women for their outstanding contribution to the development and promotion
of sports in The Gambia over the past 12 months.
This
is not the first time Gassama has been considered for the award by the Sports
Journalists Association of The Gambia, having received a special SJAG award in
2012.
Gassama,
nicknamed ‘Papa’, has been the most outstanding referee in Africa over the last
couple of years.
He
has won three (TRIPLE) consecutive awards by the confederation of African
football (CAF), in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
He
was also designated “Person of the Year Award in 2015”, by the Gambia News
& Report in recognition of his outstanding performance during the 2014 Fifa
World Cup finals in Brazil, the highest football tournament any referee can
reach.
The
iconic referee first contested for the Caf African referee of the year award in
2013.
He
made history when he became one of the three African referees selected by Fifa
to officiate in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He
was in charge of the third game of group D fixtures of the 2014 World Cup match
between the Netherlands and Chile.
Papa,
who became Fifa referee in 2007, officiated at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
He
was in charge of the 2015 Caf African Nations Cup final between Ivory Coast and
Ghana.
Ivory
Coast won the tournament in a dramatic 9-8 penalty shootout following a
bitterly fought goalless draw at the end of extra time.
The
industrious referee became the first Gambian referee to compete for the Caf
Africa’s top refereeing award.
He
is by far the best referee on the continent and undoubtedly one of the best in
the world.
Eight
countries, namely Australia, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Cameroon, Germany, New
Zealand and Russia will compete in the tournament.
Russia
qualify automatically as the host of the tournament which kicks off on 17 June
and ends on 2 July 2017.
