History will be made in the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games when a group of African referees preside over a football match together.
The three Senegalese officials will be the first in history to take charge of an Olympic game, and will presumably open the door for more African referees to do so too.
44 year-old main referee Malang Died-hiou, 33 year-old assistant referee Djibril Camara and 37 year-old assistant referee El Hadj Malick Samba are among 88 officials from over 40 countries selected by FIFA to officiate at the upcoming Olympic football games.
Africa will have five referees, the other two being Kwimbira Berna-dettar of Malawi and Ahmed Waleed of Sudan.
“This is a first for our country and for the African continent for this Senegalese team to be part of a world-renowned game like the Olympic Games. This only attests to the hard work that Senegalese trainers have invested in Senegalese referees,” Senegal’s Malang said.
The Olympic football games kick-off on 4 August when Iraq takes on Denmark.
