Luanda – The assistant referee Jerson Emiliano was received in Luanda on Tuesday night in a festive atmosphere, at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, in a simple action witnessed by national sports figures, practitioners and federation members.
At the event, in which the Sport Ministry was represented by the National Director for Sports, Nicolau Daniel, the Angolan professional referee was touched by the reception, and without being able to control his tears he thanked his compatriots for the support.
Emiliano, who was part of the group of referees, on Sunday, for the final game in which hosts Côte d`Ivoire beat Nigeria, 2-1, in Abidjan, told the press that he had contributed, once again, to the history of the sport in Africa.
He added that he hopes that in the future more international-class referees and judges will appear so that Angola's name is always well referenced at CAF and FIFA level.
The 40-year-old referee, born in the province of Huíla, said that, generally, when talking about referees in the world the first thing is critique, but during the AFCON in Côte d`Ivoire this trend was reversed.
“The world stopped to see Africa. 54 African countries and several from other continents contributed so that the African Championship could be witnessed by more than two million football lovers”, he highlighted.
Jerson Emiliano participated for the seventh time in the final phase of CAF's biggest competition, and was named on three occasions to join the team for the final.
At the event, Angolan group of referees was also represented by assistant referee Ivanildo Lopes, and by the director of the Council of Angolan referres, Inácio Cândido, as commissioner.
Angola was also represented at the best African football summit by Miller Gomes, who once again joined the competition's technical team, in addition to Doctor João Mulima, as an Anti-Doping Control Member.
The Angola National Team reached the quarter-finals of the competition, a stage in which they were eliminated by Nigeria, with a 0-1 defeat.
Upon returning to the country, the delegation was also honored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the provincial Government of Luanda.
MC/CF/jmc
