Kenya’s Gilbert Cheruiyot to Officiate at 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Cheruiyot has graced elite football tournaments such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, three Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments in 2019, 2021, and 2023
At 41, Cheruiyot boasts an impressive record both locally and on the international front. Photo /Citizen Digital
By Juliet Jerotich
Kenya is realizing a big milestone in football refereeing as vastly experienced assistant referee Gilbert Cheruiyot has been invited by FIFA to referee at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be hosted in Chile from September 27 to October 19.
At 41, Cheruiyot boasts an impressive record both locally and on the international front. He began refereeing in the Kenyan Premier League in 2008, and in 2013, he was given his FIFA accreditation, opening doors to officiate at the top level of competitions in the world.
His recent selection to the U-20 World Cup only solidifies his status as an experienced football official. Cheruiyot has graced elite football tournaments such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, three Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments in 2019, 2021, and 2023, and multiple FIFA World Cup qualifiers, right from the 2022 cycle to the ongoing 2026 qualifiers.
He has also been a key component of CAF Champions League games since 2018, where he has gone on to demonstrate professionalism and skill at the highest level of African club football. Being selected to officiate at the U-20 tournament is not just a personal honor but also a matter of pride for the Kenyan football fraternity.
Despite the fact that Kenya’s U-20 national team did not qualify for the tournament after being knocked out in the group stages of the AFCON U-20 Championship in Egypt earlier this year, Cheruiyot’s selection as an official ensures the country has a representation at the global championship.
Kenya has also achieved a lot in producing world-class referees, with the likes of Peter Waweru, Dickens Mimisa, Mary Njoroge, and Stephen Yiembe establishing themselves on the global scene. Cheruiyot’s recent accreditation is testimony to Kenya’s growing profile in refereeing on the global stage and an encouragement to aspiring officials.
With the countdown to the tournament now underway, Cheruiyot will have the Kenyan football fraternity behind him, proud that one of their own will be representing the country at a top-level FIFA event. That he was picked is a sign of Kenya’s increasing technical prowess at the game.
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