Kenya might not be in the good books of the world football governing body FIFA yet, leave alone playing at the World Cup, but Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga is brushing shoulders with elite match officials in Qatar and is on course to winning silverware.Olunga’s Al Duhail have booked a semis spot at the ongoing FIFA Referee Cup following their 2-1 win over Al Khor and will be hoping to proceed as group leaders ahead of their last group match against Al Gharafa, with the Kenyan featuring in the win.The tournament kicked off on Friday last week and is set to climax on November 26, barely a week into the world’s greatest football fiesta.#AlDuhail Defeats Al Khor by Two Goals https://t.co/FwsrD3E0oL pic.twitter.com/RVJIDPc06d— نادي الدحيل ALDUHAIL (@DuhailSC) November 13, 2022 All the 12 teams in the Qatar Stars League are taking part in the tournament aimed at helping the World Cup match officials remain sharp ahead kick off later this week, an initiative by the QSL and FIFA.”The FIFA Referee Cup, part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, has been launched in co-operation and co-ordination between the Qatar Stars League and FIFA, and in line with the preparations and arrangements for the referees officiating in the 2022 World Cup matches.This tournament is being held from November 10 to 26, 2022, at the Qatar SC Stadium, with the participation of 12 clubs, divided into three groups – Group A (Al Gharafa, Umm Salal, Al Duhail, Al Khor), Group B (Al Markhiya, Al Arabi, Qatar SC, Al Shamal), Group C (Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah, Al Sailiya, Al Ahli),” a communique by QSL about the tournament read.Olunga reveals how he gave up a chance to join French giants AS MonacoThe former Gor Mahia forward was recently in Kenya for a short holiday before jetting back to Qatar last week just in time for the tournament.Duhail have won both the matches they have played in Group A so far, beating Umm Salal 2-1 last week on Thursday and seeing off Al Khor by a similar scoreline on Sunday.
