Just like many of the 336 players at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018, Lidya Tafesse Abebe discovered her passion for football at an early age. The only difference is that the Ethiopian fell for refereeing.
“I just love it,” she told FIFA.com with a smile. “I played football at school when I was a young girl and I was at a club for seven years. Basketball was another of my favourite sports. Whenever I watched a football match, I would watch the referees and say to myself: ‘Being a referee is a tough job’. But I kept on thinking about it. My teacher was a refereeing instructor and he told me I could learn how to do it. And that’s how I started. I was 12 at the time.”
Her instructor’s words would prove prescient and Abebe made her dream a reality by becoming a FIFA referee. The 38-year-old was part of the team of officials at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan the following year, while she has also been selected to officiate at France 2018.
“Being a referee is challenging and you learn for your life,” Abebe said. “For example, whenever I go out on the pitch, I completely change the expression on my face. I become strong and I make decisions. People love me for that. They come to me and say: ‘Hey Lidya, you’re completely different, on and off the pitch. Sometimes I’m funny, sometimes I’m strong. I referee men’s games as well and that’s why people say it’s challenging. But for me, it’s easy to do; it’s my life.”
It is that attitude that helped her find her way back to football after the birth of her child. “When I was pregnant, I thought to myself: ‘I feel like my body is strong’. One month after my C-section, I told my friends: ‘I might be big, but I feel light’. Four months after giving birth, I decided to start training again. When I arrived at the stadium, people started laughing and saying: ‘Look, that’s Lydia’. But I just weighed 20 kilos more than usual.
“I would go to the gym in the morning, go home, have a rest, eat healthily and then go swimming for almost three hours,” she continued. “People made fun of me, but I live for being a referee and wanted to come back and participate at a World Cup and the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. That was my vision. Everyone, including the media, said I wouldn’t make it back. After three months of training, I took the fitness test for the Women’s Premier League and I passed. Everyone was surprised. I also did the tests for the men’s second division and the U-17s, and passed those too. Eleven months after giving birth, I was officiating a semi-final at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and ran for 120 minutes [the fixture also served as a qualifying game for Canada 2015].”
Such an impressive achievement did not go unnoticed, and later that same year, she was named as the best female referee in her homeland. The U-20 Women’s World Cup in France is next on the agenda for the likeable Ethiopian, who – like the 336 players at the tournament – has shown that it pays to follow your dreams.
Lidya Abebe You learn about life in refereeing
One needs to be crazy to understand Ethiopian Football
Ethiopian Football is hard to understand even to senior experienced coaches. Shocking surprises and unsolvable riddles seem to pop up out of nowhere. The latest is Gebremedin Haile’s departure from Premier League Champion Jimma Aba Jifar to take over 4th place runner up Mekele.
Usually when a team wins the championship their leader prepares them for further adventures like retaining the title and international fixtures like the African Champions League.
So the reason that Gebremedin ran away from the champion team to lead the rebuilding Mekele is a riddle in need of some sorcery. One assumption is that Gebremedin jumped away from AbaJifar looking for big money.
The migration of seven players who played key roles in Jimma AbaJifar’s championship dream to Mekele following their boss Gebremedin is the other bizarre phenomena. Of course money is a priority for these players but the incident shows that they have no dream to play at a higher level that is African Champions League next season. They would rather collect fat checks. Ask these players their dream and sure they want to represent Ethiopia and play for a big European club. What a nation with its football cursed for good.
Paulos (Mango) steers Baherdar to promotion
A heroic campaign at the gruesome Ethiopian Super League season Head Coach Paulos Getachew popularly known “Mango” steered Baherdar FC in to promotion with three fixtures remaining. Just two defeats so far in the season Baherdar won an automatic promotion winning the sixteen side Group “B” while Shere Enda-Selassie finished runner up of the group and thus will battle against its Group “A” counterpart to book a place in the upper tier the coming season.
With Eighteen wins, eight draws and only two defeats so far in the season Paulos famous for building strong sides the likes of Burayu and last year’s Super League semifinalist Hadiya Hosana, Paulos’ hard work paid back his third trial this time leading “The Blue Waves” in style to automatic promotion by a mile. Eleven points clear of second place Shere Enda Selassie, Baherdar owner to the biggest stadium in the country, is the first side to represent the capital of Amhara Region since Baherdar University was relegated ten years ago. “The dream of having a regional representative from Baherdar came true and I dedicate the achievement to the football loving people and the sea side popular regional seat Baherdar,” Paulos remarked jubilantly.
The region that had been strongly behind the team through the hard times stood first to recognize the huge achievement showing its gratitude in awarding each of the players 100,000 Birr prize to go along with a 100 m2 plot while head coach Paulos Getachew was showered with a 200 m2 plot and the same amount of Birr. Paulos signed a new contract extension to spearhead the Premier League campaign in the coming new season.
Group “B” trios in fierce PL promotion contention
With a marvelous home victory over promotion contenders Dilla, Jimma AbaBuna’s dream of promotion appears to have come true while Halaba clinched second place after a home win over Shashemene.
Though the likes of Debub Police and Dilla were in control of the Super League Group “B” table, they appeared to be out of gas by the crucial stage of the tournament. With three games to go Jimma AbaJifar took over the driver’s seat of the group in goal differences after a marvelous home display against Dilla. An astonishing hat trick from Bezuayehu Endashaw AbaBuna demolished Dilla 4-1 and they sit on top with 53 points and 27 goals. AbaJifar faces Hadya and Butagera away and Shashemene at home.
With 13 wins eleven draws and only two defeats in 27 matches; Halaba appears a real promotion contender as opposed to Debub Police. A 2-0 win on Wednesday Halaba took over second place with 52 points and 22 goals. Famous for its consistency Halaba needs extra energy to sail through the remaining matches with Hadya and Wolkite while at home against Bench-Maji Zone.
A bit out of form recently Debub Police is third in the table Debub Police is lurking behind the two a point down after Wednesday’s away draw to lowly side Negele. But Debub Police is still in promotion contention for it has humble sides to face in the remaining three fixtures. At home against Wolkite followed by away to Hambericho it closes the season at home entertaining its counterpart Diredawa Police.
