IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS ( KUIPERS - CAF DRAW)
Picture : Bjorn Kuipers retired after a great career !
KUIPERS ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT
Bjorn Kuipers has announced his retirement from refereeing. Before some days,the Dutchman led the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England. At 48, Kuipers directed his last match ,the Dutch super cup between Ajax and PSV on August 7 (picture) , before retiring.
“My mind told me before the EURO Final Italy-England that I should retire after the tournament, but my head was turned by people who told me not to. They thought I had whistled fantastically and that I should continue for another year and a half to be active at the World Cup in Qatar in November and December 2022. It’s been nice. They sometimes say that you should stop at your peak. And in that regard, there is no better moment than this.”
At Wembley, Kuipers, one of the standout referees at Euro 2020, led the European Championship final with Italy prevailing from the penalty spot after 120 nerve-racking minutes. It was his fifth major finals in a row, having first refereed at a senior international tournament at Euro 2012. Kuipers also took charge of a Champions League final and two Europa League finals during his distinguished career.
“I started to referee in 1989, when I was sixteen, on the advice of my father, because he was a referee,” reflected Kuipers. “I could never have imagined that I would have such a wonderful career.”
Bjorn Kuipers was always ranked in the IFFHS World Referee Ranking in the Top 10 since 10 years and is able to convince to win his first IFFHS World Award for his 2021 year !
CAF Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 Final Draw made.
All 24 qualified countries for next year’s event now know their pool mates and venues after last night’s flamboyant event at the Yaounde Conference Centre. An executive statement by CAF boss, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, after the welcome speech ad libitum by the president of the Local Organizing Committee, Professor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, vowed to put Africa on its deserved spot on the world football map, and that talk was on with sponsors to increase the prize money of the event and to have such paid directly to players.
“When you invest in football, you invest in the people and in the future of the continent,” Motsepe urged sponsors and partners of CAF and African football.
In the draw in which CAF legends, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Rabah Madjer, Gyan Asamoah, Cameroon retired female footballer, Gaelle Enganamouit all drew lots, coordinated by CAF director of competitions, Samson Adamu the following pools emerged:
Group A(Olembe Stadium, Yaounde): Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde.
Group B(Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam): Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi.
Group C(Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaounde): Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon.
Group D(Roumdé-Adjia Stadium, Garoua): Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea Bissau.
Group E(Japoma Stadium, Douala): Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast.
Group F(Omnisports Stadium, Limbe): Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia.
The inaugural game of the competition will be played on 9 January, 2022 between Cameroon and Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium, venue for the 6 February final.