Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea (born 11 September 1987) is a Ghanaian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2014. He is also one of the referees for the

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

. In 2021, Laryea was officially selected as a referee for the delayed

2020 African Nations Championship The 2020 African Nations Championship, known as CHAN 2020 for short and the TotalEnergies, Total African Nations Championship for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes, was the 6th edition of the biennial association football tournament org ...

in Cameroon. He officiated the

2021 Ghanaian FA Cup The 2021 Ghana FA Cup was the 41st season of the Ghana FA Cup, the primary knockout competition in Ghanaian football. Sponsored by MTN Ghana for the 11th straight season, thus called the "MTN FA Cup" for sponsorship purposes, History Due to th ...

final between Hearts of Oak and the Ashanti Gold. Laryea was also one of the appointed referees of the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

in Cameroon.

Early life

Laryea was born on 11 September 1987 in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

. He had his secondary education at the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Single-sex education, boys' high school located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private school in 1931, it gained the status of a Government ...

where he played football and later became the goalkeeper for the school's football team. He holds a bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the

University of Ghana Business School University of Ghana Business School, formerly called the School of Administration, is the undergraduate and post graduate Business School of the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana. It is also the premier and the largest Business School in Ghana. ...

, and a degree in Physical Education from the

University of Education, Winneba The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) is a university in Winneba, Central Region of Ghana. It was established in 1992 by a government ordinance (PNDC Law 322) and with a relationship with the University of Cape Coast. Its main aim is to ...

Career

Laryea began as a professional referee in the Ghanaian lower division league at the age of 17 in 2005. In 2012, aged 24, he officiated his first

between Medeama and Berekum Chelsea, and two years later, he became a

FIFA listed The FIFA International Referees List is an annual publication of the global list of FIFA international referees in the football-variants controlled by FIFA association football (outdoor football), futsal and beach soccer Beach soccer, also k ...

referee. Following his enlistment, Laryea has officiated in a number of international football competitions including; the 2017 CAF U-17 Cup of Nations which was held in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, the 2018 WAFU Cup of Nations in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, the 2018 CHAN hosted by

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and the 2020 CHAN tournament held in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. He was summoned to officiate the

final between Hearts of Oak and the Ashanti Gold. He also officiated the high-profile debut match between Hearts of Oak and

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional sports, professional association football, football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''African crested ...

in the 2020–21 season. Laryea was also one of the appointed referees of the

in Cameroon. Laryea officiated during the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco. He was the Assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) for the

2022 CAF Women's Champions League Final The 2022 CAF Women's Champions League was the 2nd edition of the annual African women's association football club tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) held in Morocco from 30 October to 13 November 2022. Mamelodi ...

. On 6 December 2022, he also made the list of officials for the rescheduled

2022 African Nations Championship The 2022 African Nations Championship, known as the 2022 CHAN for short and the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes, was the 7th edition of the biennial association football tournament organ ...

in Algeria. On 13 January 2023, he served as the Assistant video assistant referee for the opening match for the competition between

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Personal life

Laryea enjoys physical training and basketball in his leisure time. He also loves to model and take pictures.

References

External links

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Daniel Nii Laryea
at World Referee {{DEFAULTSORT:Laryea, Daniel Nii 1987 births Living people Ghanaian football referees People from Accra Sportspeople from Accra Alumni of the Accra Academy University of Ghana alumni University of Education, Winneba alumni Ga-Adangbe people