Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He is the only French referee selected to referee 3×3 basketball matches

Najib Chajiddine is an international referee. He will be the only Frenchman to officiate at the Olympic Games. A real opportunity and recognition of his skills. Close to the Blues, he hopes to see his country at the highest peak of the Olympics.

In just a few years, Frenchman Najib Chajiddine has become a reference in global 3×3 basketball refereeing, a discipline little known to the general public. HAS so much so that he was selected to officiate at the Paris 2024 Games. HAS 34 years old, he is also part of the very closed circle of international referees who officiate on the World Tour, the most competitive tournament in the world. A stage of this competition in Marseille, a little over 50 days before the Paris Olympic Games, was a good opportunity to meet him.

A report to be discovered in full in the show Local sportsevery Saturday at noon in France 3 and in replay on france.tv.

When our journalist Lukas Nicot goes to the World Tour in Marseille, his first question for Najib Chajiddine is to ask him what pushed him to become a 3×3 basketball referee (a discipline tested for you by our colleagues from France 3 Bourgogne Franche- County). “A lot of things, he replies. We had a 5×5 referee activity which was a little calmer in the summer, so it made it possible to keep an outdoor referee activity in the summer when the weather was nice.”

But then what does life as an international referee look like? “It’s a life with a lot of travel around the world, a lot of travel. There are between 10 and 20 of them every year, all around the world.”

A very intense pace for this native of Quimper who will, for example, referee the following week in Mongolia before heading to Canada. An international adventure started in 2016 that he shares with his colleagues from all over the world, whom he knows well, whom he appreciates, and with whom he communicates in different languages.

Najib is recognized by his peers. One of them states: “Najib has improved a lot, he really earned his place at the Olympics and he really worked hard to get there.” The young man will have the chance to experience the Olympic Games at home. He will be the only Frenchman out of the eleven referees selected.

Moreover, on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, there will only be five Europeans. A huge honor for the one who came so close to the Tokyo Games in 2021: “In Tokyo, I was in reserve, on stand-by. What made the difference, I think, was the experience. I was able to compete in a lot of competitions. I was also able to compete in a lot of tournaments in 3×3. I was very good at the right time.”

An event like the Marseille Masters is a good opportunity to get together, a form of dress rehearsal before the Games for both players and referees: “Yes, it’s a bit of a warm-up for everyone. Everyone tests everyone a bit. We also try to gauge the teams a bit, these are players that we will find in the Olympic Games.”

The World Tour where Najib Chajiddine is officiating that day is an opportunity to take the pulse of future games. Many teams are present there, such as the French team which won its ticket on May 19, 2024 by beating the Mongolian team. The Paris collective, with its French internationals like Franck Seguela, Paul Djoko, Alex Vialaret or Jules Rambaut, will make a strong impression in this Marseille master’s by reaching the final. Unfortunately, the Lithuanians of Raudondvaris will win the tournament. Not enough to undermine the morale of the Blues.

For Paul Djoko, even if France did not win the World Tour, the event announces great things for Paris 2024: “It’s nice, it’s the first tournament of the season for Paris after the satisfaction of qualifying two or three weeks ago. So there you go, we’re riding a bit of a positive wave.” Karim Souchu, coach of the French 3×3 team, adds: “Especially since we had 6 teams who are going to be at the Paris Games so it was a rehearsal, it allows us to see where we still need to progress. So it was good for us.”

Despite his impartiality as a referee, Najib recognizes it, he hopes “great performances for France”. As a French referee, Nejib will not be able to use his talent during Les Bleus matches. Jules Rambault teases him about this: “He is disgusted because when it is us who play, he cannot referee, and as a result he will referee less and less”. The objective of the players of the French team is therefore clear: they are aiming for the top. And in their quest, Najib supports them fully: “That’s what I wish for myself, to referee less so that the boys can perform.”