Mario Escobar hopes to become the third Guatemalan refereeing at a World Cup, following Romulo Mendez Molina and Carlos Batres. Walter Lopez was in Brazil 2014, but only as fourth official. “I hope to be at the World Cup, I want to be there. There is a possibility, I had the opportunity to participate in several competitions, I really enjoy football, I have the complete albums from the 1998 World Cup”, said Escobar.
- Do you see yourself at the World Cup in Qatar?
- I do not want to get ahead of myself, since we are eight candidate referees from Concacaf. I made some calculations before I became a FIFA referee and I predicted that I would go to the World Cup in 2022. The fact of being included in this selection process gave me satisfactions because there are referees with more experience, and I never imagined myself as a potential candidate. I have prepared myself for years to be at this level. My dad couldn't be at the 1998 World Cup in France, but I want to be at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
- When would your presence in Qatar be confirmed?
- I do not know the specific date and I could not estimate times because I have never been in a selection process before, and even more so when all participating teams have not yet been known. When the World Cup was played in June, the notification arrived in February. I do not even know if I will receive that confirmation email from confirmation, so could not yet give a date.
- How was your participation at the African Cup of Nations.
- Definitely, participating in a tournament like the African Nations Cup is very well seen by the football world and personally gives me enormous satisfaction. The previous four qualifying matchdays that I had refereed in Concacaf left a good taste in my mouth, so I am waiting for the FIFA Referees Committee and Concacaf to make their decision. I can be on the list, but I don't know if I will be as referee, fourth official or VAR, but I consider myself suitable for this tournament.
- How is your preparation going on?
- We have to intensify the preparation, we can always be better, so I have to adapt to the demands of the work plan. FIFA will determine when the seminars will be held, but everything starts in the federation here. It will always be a pride to be able to represent Guatemala. I would like people to know more about Guatemalan football. I am always the first person interested in improving our football.
Source: Emisoras Unidos
