The sound of Egypt's whistle

When Gamal El-Ghandour blew his whistle at the world's most prestigious soccer championship -- the 1998 World Cup finals in France -- he was following in the footsteps of other global Egyptian refereeing icons: Youssef Mohamed in 1934, Ali Qandil in 1966 and 1970, and Mustafa Kamel Mahmoud in 1974.

Today, El-Ghandour's legacy has been passed on to Wagih Ahmed Farrag, who served as an assistant referee in Korea/Japan 2002.

El-Ghandour's list of achievements is, by any standards, sizeable. He is considered the best Egyptian referee ever and the only referee worldwide to participate in six major cups: the Olympics, the World Cup, the FIFA Confederation Cup, and the African, Asian & European Cups. He is the only Egyptian referee to participate in five successive African cups of nations -- in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002. He is the only African referee to have officiated in the quarterfinals of two World Cups -- France in 1998 and Korea and Japan in 2002. And only he among his peers has refereed on the five continents.

His record list is long, but the span in which he picked them up is short. El-Ghandour's road to international refereeing -- featuring 49 games -- started after the end of the 1994 World Cup finals when FIFA chose him among 60 referees nominated by their continental confederations.

Since then, he has worked hard -- running an hour every day, playing pick-up matches, watching old World Cup games, and studying and re-studying the rules of the sport in detail.

For a man of such accomplishment and such command of his field, his future seemed fruitful. But last year, at the age of 45, El-Ghandour stunned Egyptians with his retirement. While the mandatory age for retirement at the international level -- as stipulated by FIFA -- is indeed 45, Egyptians expected him to continue at the local level.

"Of course, it's hard," El-Ghandour said, "but I think I did everything. I reached the highest levels. My whistle has been blowing in stadiums throughout the world. This is the time to say good-bye. And even if it is hard, I have to do it."

While most young boys do not think of refereeing as a career aspiration, for Ghandour it seemed like a logical choice. "When I was playing, my team and myself found that some refereeing decisions were unfair," he recalls of his beginning. "We suffered, as a consequence, which sometimes angered us. That was when I decided to become a referee, and ever since, I have tried to be as fair as possible."

El-Ghandour believed he had the right qualities -- self- confidence, firmness, and the ability to control both players and spectators.

It hasn't been easy. "In Nigeria in a 1994 African Champions League second-leg match between a Nigerian club and Tunisia's Esperance," he recalls of his toughest match, "the first leg had ended 3-0 in favour of the Tunisian side. The pre-game atmosphere was tense, especially after a plane crash had killed several Nigerian spectators. The Nigerians accused the Tunisian side of being behind the crash. It was the most difficult match of my career because Nigeria was eliminated, drawing 1-1."

These days, El-Ghandour has had time to reflect -- not just on his career, but also on the status of football itself.

"I believe that one day an African team will reach the semi-final or the final of a World Cup. Maybe in 2010 when Africa hosts the event," he says. "And in terms of hosting a World Cup event -- specifically, for example, 2010 -- I believe it should and will come to Egypt. Socially, culturally, historically, we have the best facilities to organise and host such a significant event."

As he sits on the sidelines and watches former colleagues blow their whistles, El-Ghandour's mind is constantly on football -- whether it's preparing for his TV programme on refereeing, which broadcasts on Arab satellite channels, or working on establishing a refereeing school for boys.

"My dream is to help maintain the solid reputation of African referees in the world," he says. "It's not enough to take all the glory and then say good-bye. I believe it is my duty to give something back."