Nominated Referees Spotlight: Ephraim Grant
Assistant Referee Grant is one of the eight new entries proposed for 2022 FIFA badges.
At long last, Assistant Referee Ephraim Grant, a regular and longtime follower of Observer Sports, can finally read a sports article solely about himself as the Observer’s sports desk begins to spotlight referees nominated for 2022 FIFA badges.
The Liberia Football Referees Committee, during the given nomination period, sent a list of 12 match officials (four females and eight males) proposed for inclusion into the FIFA List 2022. Fortunately, Assistant Referee Grant is one of the eight new entries.
One of the best in the business. Grant usually appears unfriendly during matches, but that does take anything away from him being one of the best assistant football referees in Liberia, as he professionally performs his tasks.
He hardly responds to furious players who run to him when he signals his flag, as he owes no player an explanation, but rather his team of match officials. Outside of regular referees association training sessions, Grants does his regular self-training to be at peak fitness for the season and to meet up with the fitness test for referees.
It has been a long time coming since Grant joined the Liberia Football Referees Association (LIFRA) in 2012 along with other notable names including George Rogers, Joel Doe, Sekou Konneh and Hassan Corneh, among others.
Like every other referee, Grant’s ambition is to become an international referee and officiate international matches as he has and continues to make his mark on the national scene; evidenced from his nomination.
In addition to that, the 36-year-old has officiated several high profile matches in Liberia. Thankfully, though, he’s not noted for being controversial.
Among the several high profile matches that he has officiated include the recent LFA Super Cup between champions LPRC Oilers and Cup winners Monrovia Club Breweries. This was Grant’s second consecutive Super Cup, as he was part of the team of match officials for the 2019/20 Super Cup between Oilers and LISCR FC.
Other matches include the 2020/21 National County Sports Meet quarter and semi finals, 2019 LFA Who Owns the Land Final, 2021 Montserrado District League Final, 2021 Barnersville Estate League Final, and crucial league matches between top teams in the Liberian league.
Although the fate of Grant becoming an international referee lies within the hands of the FIFA Referee Committee, which hopefully he could become, his performance over the years has recorded him as one of the best in Liberia.
