On Tuesday, FIFA appointed North American referee Ismail Elfat, 40, to manage the Portugal-Ghana team, on Thursday, the 24th of this month, the debut game of Qatar World Cup Qualification took place in Doha, at 874 Stadium. (16 hours, Group H ).
Selected U.S. Referee of the Year – He managed the Major League Soccer Final between Los Angeles and the Philadelphia Union and also made 27 appearances to that point, for a total of 193 North American Pro Football League appearances throughout his career. Elfat is one of only 28 judges to make his debut in the World Championship finals, the only one from the country of “stars and stripes” and only the eighth judge in the history of the United States of America and 22 final stages of the World Championships from 1930 to deserve the award for participation in the World Championship, and in this in Qatar, only 36 get this honor.
Born in Casablanca, Morocco, the family of Elfat, who was born in Casablanca, Morocco, won a green card entry visa for immigrants to the United States in an annual drawing, and when he was 18 years old, he emigrated from Africa to the other side of the Atlantic. Elfat lives in the capital of Texas, Austin, is married and has three children, two of them are 17 and 5 years old (the other is 9), the players are the first defender, the second is “still looking.” for his position, ”Elfat himself confirmed in an interview with the Austin American Statesman website.
The referee had already crossed paths with Portugal at the Under-20 World Championships in Poland in 2019, judging a selection that then included three of those now selected, Fernando Santos, Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot and Rafael Leão, from the group in defeat. (0-2) against Argentina in the group stage
A professional referee in MLS since 2009 and with international club insignia since 2016, Elfat made a 14-hour direct intercontinental flight from Dallas (USA) to Doha and, at the time, disclosed to North Americans the citizenship he acquired after leaving. Morocco “with 200 dollars in his pocket and nothing else” in 2000 – who knows what he’s going to do. “Typically you only have one game to referee, but if you do well, they might nominate me for more.”
This former striker, who realized as a teenager that “it’s not very useful, the best thing would be to become a referee” – after he played basketball and street football – admitted to the website of the city where he lives in the USA. that participating in the World Cup was a “dream come true”, “the pinnacle of a career”, which he says forces him to spend an average of 140 nights a year away from his family to hold meetings.
A member of the Islamic community in Austin, Ismail Elfat belongs to the Alliance of American Muslim Leaders and the Alliance Football Foundation, having played a prominent role in 2020 and 2021 in the Covid-21 pandemic, active in the Islamic Center of Texas. Capital: He rolled up his sleeves, cooked and served soup, coronavirus shots, and shelter to the needy in Austin.
Elfat will be assisted by compatriots Kyle Atkins and Corey Parker, with France’s Stephanie Frappard as fourth referee. American Armando Villarreal will be VAR.
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