ONE ON ONE WITH FIFA REFEREE ADAARI ABDUL-LATIF

When one feels appreciated he would 

always do more than what is expected 

of him and this is the wheel on which the HPERSSA Heroes Journal (HHJ) moves. For this reason we choose to celebrate

Mr Adaari Abdul- Latif is a 33-year old professional teacher, and a FIFA referee who hails from Takpo in the Nadowli Kaleo district of the Upper West Region. He is a strong member of the Islamic faith.

MR ADAARI'S JOURNEY THROUGH EDUCATION

He started his basic education at St. John's Catholic Primary and Junior High School, Wa and completed in 2007. He was then admitted to Islamic Senior High School, in Wa from 2007 to 2011. Adaari Abdul-Latif then made a decision to become a professional teacher and so he gained admission into Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education Wa, from 2013 to 2016.He is currently a level 300 student pursuing Bsc. Physical Education at the University of Education, Winneba in the HPERS Department. He held various portfolios which include compound prefect, a sport prefect, a house prefect and a Sports Secretary whilst climbing the educational ladder.

HOW HE BECAME A REFEREE

Referee Adaari from his infancy was more or less like a lawyer of the game. No wonder his English teacher who was also a referee introduced him to refereeing in 2009. It was really tough from the beginning.He recalled his father rebuking him all because he saw him officiate a match at the Wa Sports Stadium saying "we want you to learn hard and travel abroad, you are here practicing how to become a referee" little did he know refereeing would send me round to see the world. Today his father is very proud of him. 

Mr. Adaari said, he started officiating in the premier division in 2015. Two years later, he got his FIFA badge (license) and officiated his first CAF champions league match. That was a great delight to him, he added.

 

CHALLENGES

Adaari told HHJ that some of the challenges confronting him as a referee and a student are the frequent travelling amidst missing and skipping of lectures and quizzes in school, name calling from fans, pre-financing of transportation and accommodation cost. He also made it known that the stress to train after hours of attending lectures to meet the demands of his work all make it difficult combining schooling and refereeing. "I have never regretted becoming areferee because it is something I love and have chosen to do and I think I have to be ready to face to face the challenges head-on". He revealed confidently.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

The day he got the FIFA badge was his greatest moment. Aside that, officiating Cup of Nations and world cup qualifying matches cannot be left out. Just some two weeks ago, he was the fourth official when Niger played Algeria in a world cup qualifier. He officiated in the WAFU tournament in 2019 held in Senegal.Officiating the MTN FA final between Hearts of Oak and Kotoko, NC Finals between Kotoko and Kerela and other big games in Ghana adds up to his achievements. Another thing he considers as an enormous achievement is being the number two in the Ghanaian referees ranking currently. 

 

As the saying goes " good name is better than riches" and this manifested during the famous number 12 exposé by Anas. Mr. Adaari Abdul-Latif chose good name over riches hence he was not implicated because he never compromised on his integrity.

 

Adaari Abdul-Latif's role model is the number one referee in Ghana and a Confederation of African Football (CAF) professional referee, Daniel Nii Aye Laryea.

 

His biggest wish is to officiate in the world cup with the help of God.

He remarked that the standard of football has fallen drastically as compared to even some of the African nations that came to study everything about football from us, especially the north Africans because they invest so much into it.  

Finally, he suggested that the allowances referees receive are paid on time to reduce the financial burden on referees. Again, referees must be well resourced in terms of logistics before they get to match venues in the times ahead. 

 

Stay tuned as we bring you more of the heroes and heroines within the HPERS Department.

Source: HPERSSA Heroes Journal