Abdulla Ali Al Athba’s passion for football started when he was a little boy. He would diligently keep up with local and international football tournaments.
Today as a Qatari referee, Al Athba is looking forward to participating as a referee at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Al Athba who is a student at Qatar Foundation (QF) said that Qatar FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is a great achievement and a source of pride for him. He is happy to see that the world is looking at Qatar as an incubator for world championships.
Al Athba narrates his journey into the world of football.
“I have been associated with the game since I was young, and my interest in refereeing began when I was in secondary school, where I participated in refereeing courses organised by the Qatar Football Association in cooperation with the schools, which aimed to attract young students to develop their skills in refereeing,” he said.
“My participation in the courses began as a challenge with one of my colleagues at school who was of the opinion that I would not be able to complete the program and balance it with my studies. But I accepted the challenge and completed the program until I graduated and obtained a permit and registered myself as a referee in the Qatar Football Association.”
Al Athba also said that he feels very happy as soon as he steps into the stadium to referee football matches and that this feeling stems from his passion for sports in general and his love for football in particular and he indicated that he aspires to participate in more football matches at the international pro leagues.
After graduating from high school, Al Athba joined the Academic Bridge Program at QF’s pre-university foundation program.
He explained that the environment at QF, and the sports facilities it contains, allowed him to continue his passion alongside studying, noting that he had participated in many football competitions held at QF.
Al Athba’s refereeing career in the men’s league of the sport began as a fourth referee in the Qatari league competitions, and that his first participation as a field referee was in the last matches of the 2013 season of the Qatari league. And he participated in the final match of the last Amir Cup as a field referee.
“I was nominated to be an international referee in 2018 and in 2019. I participated in my first continental tournament as a VAR (video assistant referee) in the U-17 World Cup in Brazil, and then I participated in the Asian U-23 Cup in Thailand in 2020,” he said.
Al Athba also participated in refereeing several matches in the AFC Cup and in the Asian Champions League as a fourth referee, and in the Tokyo Olympics as well as a VAR in the final match. After which he participated in the Arab Cup as a VAR in five matches, and this participation was an important achievement for him and for Qatari sports.
After graduating from the Sports Science Program at Qatar University, Al Athba is now continuing his academic studies, he is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Sport and Entertainment Management at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a QF homegrown university.
Al Athba said that joining the master’s program has greatly helped him in having a more comprehensive view of stadiums and tournaments. He said, “I joined the master’s program in sports at HBKU due to my passion for sports in general. And after joining it, my view of the matches changed, and I started looking at each match in a more comprehensive manner that includes several aspects, both in terms of organisation and accompanying activities.”
Al Athba expressed his desire to continue his studies by obtaining a Ph.D. after completing his master’s studies at HBKU.
