Daniel Laryea’s journey in football began quietly on dusty local pitches, but it has grown into one of Ghana’s proudest officiating stories as he takes centre stage at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 as the country’s only selected referee.
Laryea started refereeing at age seventeen in Ghana’s lower divisions, learning the game from the ground up and earning respect through consistency and discipline. By 2012, he had broken into the Ghana Premier League, where he handled some of the country’s most intense domestic fixtures and later took charge of the FA Cup final between Hearts of Oak and Ashanti Gold.
His steady rise soon crossed Ghana’s borders. Laryea officiated at the 2017 CAF Under 17 Cup of Nations and the 2018 WAFU Cup of Nations, before becoming a familiar face at the African Nations Championship in 2018 and 2020. In 2021, he was selected as a referee for the Africa Cup of Nations, confirming his status among the continent’s trusted officials.
Beyond national team tournaments, Laryea has been involved in top level CAF club competitions, including the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup.
His expertise in modern officiating also saw him serve as Assistant Video Assistant Referee at the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League final, as well as the opening match and final of the rescheduled 2022 African Nations Championship in Algeria.
In 2023, his career reached another milestone when he was selected as one of the referees for the FIFA Under 17 World Cup. Three years earlier, CAF had ranked him among the top 20 professional referees in Africa, following his completion of the CAF Professional Referees Course alongside elite officials from across the continent.
At AFCON 2025, Laryea will officiate group stage matches and the high profile semifinal clash between Nigeria and Morocco, further underlining the confidence placed in him by CAF.
His appointment as a Video Assistant Referee official for major AFCON 2025 matches also reflects his adaptability to the modern demands of the game.
Away from the pitch, Laryea combines sport with academics. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Ghana Business School and a degree in Physical Education from the University of Education, Winneba. He has been a FIFA listed referee since 2014, officiating international matches with authority and professionalism.
From a teenage referee in local leagues to one of Africa’s most respected officials, Daniel Laryea’s story is one of patience, hard work and quiet excellence, and Ghana watched with pride as he represented the nation on the continent’s biggest stage.
