MONROVIA, Montserrado – Referee Abraham Fahnbulleh has been named a FIFA assistant referee nine years after he joined the Liberia Football Referee Association.
Fahnbulleh, along with seven other match officials, received the prestigious FIFA badge on Saturday, Dec. 31 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Central Monrovia after completing the fitness test required for international referees. He will be included on the international panel for this year.
Three referees were added to the list of FIFA badge referees for 2017. The new match officials include assistant referees Abraham Fahnbulleh and Sekou Kanneh, as well as center referee Hassan Corneh. Veteran referees Jerry Yekeh, Isaac Montgomery, George Rogers, and assistant referees Elisha Johnson and Johnson Gbartea will remain a part of Liberia’s FIFA badge referees.
Following 10 months of training courses under FIFA/CAF technical instructor Idrissa Kaba, the 28-year-old Fahnbulleh kicked off his referee career in 2008. However, it was not until 2009 that he was featured in his first official match under the Sinkor subcommittee of the Liberia Football Association.
Prior to his promotion as a Class B National Referee in 2013, Fahnbulleh officiated both as a center and an assistant referee in several Second Division and Third Division playoff matches. He was promoted as Class C County Referee in 2011, a year after he participated in the 2010 National County Sports Meet in Buchanan as a junior referee.
Fahnbulleh has participated in several other top class matches over the years. He served as assistant referee in two LFA Cup finals, one County Meet third place match, one County Meet semifinal clash, an LFA District League final, and two third division playoff matches.
Fahnbulleh, who is now ranked among Liberia’s elite match officials, has obtained certificates from numerous national and international training courses. He represented Liberia at the high-level training course for non-FIFA referees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2015.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
