FIFA badged referee Hannah Enekole Elaigwu has expressed joy in the award she received last weekend at the grand finale of the 2022 edition of the Sheroes Preseason Women Tournament held in Abuja.
The Benue State-born FIFA referee who was at the final of both the Unity Preseason Tournament and Sheroes Women Preseason Tournament in Abuja dedicated the award to the refereeing family. Quoting her words in an exclusive interview with exclusivenews.com.ng, the University of Abuja graduate said “I feel great and very happy to have won the best referee of the tournament. I must confess it is not by my making it is God and the support of my colleagues, there is a saying from one of our FIFA and CAF instructors at the WAFU tournament which I was privileged to be part of before we go in for any match, she tells us that the referees team will be the winner, which means we will come out victorious at the end of the game, which was what happened to me in this tournament. It is myself and my colleagues that are the winners. So, I dedicate the award to all my colleagues in the refereeing family and promised Nigerians that we would continue to do our best for the development of the game.
Hannah who was at the last WAFU Women Champions League Qualifiers in Ivory Coast was among the products of the Abuja referees Academy in 2007 and has remained on the FIFA list for over five years. The 28 years arbiter is a staff of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp. She has been rewarded severally for her strict compliance in the interpretation of the laws of the game.