Representing Ethiopia in International Football Tournament

Bamlak Tessema is one of six referees in Africa selected by FIFA to officiate the games of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Bamlak will represent his country on the world stage, 48 years after another Ethiopian referee, the late Seyoum Tarekegn, took part in the 1970 tournament in Mexico. The 38 year old international referee has had an interesting journey to reach to this level. EBR’s adjunct writer Abiy Wendifraw sat down with the Bamlak to learn about his career.

Enjoying live football, in stadiums with fans and friends alike is a popular way of spending leisure time in almost every corner of the world. Sometimes, however, the ‘beautiful game’ takes an ugly turn. Football violence in Ethiopia is creating chaos and unrest during matches, sometimes fuelled by anger at referee decisions, and sometimes for reasons that are unrelated to football. EBR adjunct writer Abiy Wondifraw reports.

Nicknamed the ‘Yellow Kings’ and with a huge fan base at their home town in Adigrat, Tigray, The Welwalo are joining the Premier League, a top echelon football tournament in Ethiopia, for the first time. Welwalo joned a team of few elite football clubs – Tidel, Mesebo, and Seloda as well as Guna, Trans and Mekelle City – from the State of Tigray to make notable contributions in Ethiopian football. EBR’s adjunct writer Abiy Wendifraw spoke with the club’s administrators to learn about their preparations for the soon-to-begin football season.

The excitement that engulfed Ethiopia when the men’s national football team qualified for the biggest soccer tournament in Africa four years ago is now more like a tale from a bygone era. The fans, as electrified as ever in supporting the national team, remain desperately hopeless about the team not able to make any real progress in the beautiful game. The losing streak of the team continues in recent international matches as leaders in the sport aim to take the team to the Olympics in 2020. EBR’s Abiy Wendifraw gages the sentiment of the fans and the ambition of the sports’ officials.

Eight months after Haile Gebrselassie’s election as president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF), his team is engaged in a demanding task. They are busy at strengthening the capacity of EAF. This includes attracting more sponsors to finance the athletics development projects throughout the country. The EAF was also preparing for a better result in the 2017 London IAAF World Championship. EBR’s Abiy Wendifraw spoke with the president and other stakeholders to learn about their effort to build a strong Federation and improve athletics in Ethiopia.