Gambia’s best women’s referee and one of Africa’s finest in the feminine game, Isatou Touray, has bagged another accolade. She participated in the Discover Football fair play, which was held in the form of a women’s football and cultural festival in Berlin, Germany, between 29th July and 4th August, 2019.
While in Berlin, topics such as fair play, fair support, and fair media presence were discussed. In addition, significance of women’s empowerment, equal pay and treatment, challenges faced by women amongst a host of activities were also discussed. As part of her assessment, she officiated a Gulf derby encounter between Iran and Iraq.
At the end of the event, she was certified by the organisers for taking part in the competition. Mrs. Touray, widow of former Gambia women’s football committee chairman, Sainey Jammeh, was at Football House yesterday to present the certificate and a football to the General Secretary of The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) Mr. Lamin M. Jassey.
Speaking in an interview with www.gambiaff.org afterwards, Mrs. Touray said her trip to Germany was a dream come true. An Assistant Superintendent (ASI) at The Gambia Immigration Department commanding Bakau Station, she is a native of Balangarr, Central River Region. She started her career as a referee in 2011 and earned her first FIFA badge in 2015.
“The journey was tough and discouraging for me. I was convinced by Ebrima Jallow [now retired referee] to pursue refereeing but also seeing Fatou Gaye (Senegalese referee) who is my role model officiating men’s games boosted my spirit,” she said.
Having officiated several international matches within and outside the country since attaining her FIFA badge, Mrs. Touray’s debut came in Burkina Faso in 2015 when she refereed a match between the hosts and Djibouti. She would go on to referee matches like Nigeria vs South Africa, Liberia vs Conakry and Senegal vs Cameroon.
She explained that rising to become an elite referee as a woman, the job comes with provocations and discrimination. “I remember people calling me all sorts of names and saying things, that I should be in the kitchen, get married and that this game is for men and so on but my focus and determination was my tool to overcome this,” she lamented.
