Kari Rasanen, the former chairperson of the IBSA Goalball Sports Committee (2015-2021), was awarded with the diploma of honour in the category “Background Force/Long Life Career” at the Finnish Sports Gala 2022.

The nomination was delivered through the Finnish Paralympic Committee, and the event was broadcast in prime time in a ceremony that included red carpet moments.

Kari Rasanen was delighted with this distinction: “I was honoured to work for more than 30 years, not only in Finland but rather internationally. “It’s nice to be recognised for your selfless volunteer work over the years.”

Engineer with an Executive MBA in Global Integration and Technology Business, Mr. Rasanen has his sport’s life almost dedicated to Goalball. International referee since 1991 and level 3 since 2005, he was part of the referee’s Paralympic team in Beijing (2008) Technical Delegate (TD) in London Paralympics (2012), in the World Championships in Finland (2014), in the IBSA World Games in Korea (2015), in Rio Paralympics (2018), and Assistant TD in Tokyo Paralympics (2021).