Daniel Laryea: Meet Ghana's Number 1 referee who is also an accountant and model

Daniel Laryea is arguably Ghana's number one referee after gaining world wide attention for his outstanding conduct in high profile matches domestically and internationally.

For a career that began with Laryea in his early teens, it wasn't just his understanding of the game that has brought him to the fore, but also, his level of intelligence in dealing with chaos on the pitch made him 'popular'.

Brief bio:

Full Name: Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea

Date of Birth: 11 September 1987

Age: 33

Profession: Accountant

Referee Daniel Laryea was born in Accra, where he had his elementary education before moving to Accra Academy. At high school, Laryea developed love for the game and was at a point the goalkeeper of Accra Aca. Even though he was also a good footballer, he grew up in a family that had referees.

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Laryea told goal.com that, his decision to become a referee was birthed from following his senior brothers to practice.

“I train seriously everyday and also adhere to every good advice given to me from senior colleagues, family members and close friends,” Laryea told Goal Ghana.

“I've reached where I am because of all these, but I think I'm fortunate because many are those who wish to have good people around them to always criticise their works constructively but do not get.”

After Academy, Laryea enrolled at the University of Education in Winneba, where he bagged his first degree in Accounting. Not many could combine the two, but the intelligent referee managed to go through school unscathed.

Career Profile:

Became a referee at 17, in October 2005

Lower Division: From 2005 to 2011

First Premier League game: Medeama v Berekum Chelsea (2012)

FIFA Referee: Became FIFA referee in 2014

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Daniel Laryea became a professional referee at the age of 17, refereeing lower division games in the country. While he learnt and grew on the job, his big breakthrough came when he officiated his first Premier League game between Medeama and Berekum Chelsea in 2012.

At age 24, it took some courage to handle such a game but it was the start of great things to happen. Two years later, he earned his badge as a FIFA referee.

Tournaments participated:

CAF U-17 Cup of Nations 2017- Gabon

WAFU Cup of Nations 2018- Ghana

CHAN 2018 - Morocco

CHAN 2020 - Cameroon

After earning his FIFA badge, referee Daniel Laryea began officiating in continental matches, including AFCON qualifiers and CAF competitions such as the Champions League and Confederation Cup.

His experience skyrocketed, and soon, he would be involved in his first major tournament. He was selected for the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations in Gabon. Later, he would participate in 2018 CHAN and the 2020 edition in Cameroon.

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LEISURE

At his leisure time, Daniel Laryea loves to engage in other sports such as Basketball and he is also deeply involved in physical training. He loves to also model, taking stunning pictures for his Instagram page.

Source: Legit.ng