Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: Twenty-five football referees including three women from AFC Member Associations began their exciting and tough journey to become AFC Referees on Wednesday.
They hopefuls commenced their five-day AFC Development Group Referees Course 2013 in the Malaysian capital which aims to select AFC Referees who will work in the continental football governing body’s competitions from next year.
The course is the third edition of the AFC Development Group Referees Course that has now moved a step further by including women in the programme which focuses on evaluation.
AFC Referees Director Yoshimi Ogawa urged the participants to work hard in the course and constantly improve themselves not only as referees but also on a personal level in order to be appointed to the panel of AFC Referees.
“Year after year, the standard of refereeing in the continent and also the world has been increasing and I must tell you that our expectations of the referees have never been higher,” he said in his opening address.
“Therefore, you should not expect to be tested and evaluated at the same level but instead always aim higher. To always improve yourself as a referee, you should also always improve yourself as a person because you’re bringing not only your referee personality but your whole persona including your personal maturity, character, communication, people management, and so on, to the field.
“You may be young, but if you constantly develop yourself, you’ll be a more mature person and referee on a playing field which requires an official who can handle the game and all the 22 players maturely and with unwavering confidence.”
The course programme includes various topics such as qualities of a top referee, maintaining fitness, preventing injury, analysis of match incidents, integrity management and match management.
On-field sessions such as simulated game incidents, light fitness training and fitness tests are also important components of the course.
The course is delivered by AFC Referee Technical Instructors Ali Al Trafi (KSA), Shamsul Maidin (SIN) and Krystyna Szokolai (AUS) as well as AFC Referee Fitness Instructor Ravichandran Chappanimutu (MAS).
List of participants:
Rikako Kuwahara (JPN), Casey Reibelt (AUS), Jung Ji-young (KOR), Gillett Jarred Gavan (AUS), Abdulshaheed Abdulameer Hasan Abbas Mohamed (BHR), Thong Chanketya (CAM), Arumughan Rowan (IND), Adham Mohammad Tumah Makhadmeh (JOR), Kim Dae-yong (KOR), Alhethlol, Saleh Abdullah M (KSA), Hla Min (MYA), Sudish Kumar Pandey (NEP), Al Kaf Ahmed Abu Bakar Said (OMA), Feras Taweel Kaled Faten (SYR), Sivakorn Pu-Udom (THA), Hashmi Hamad Ahmad Abdulla H. A. Bin Alshaikh (UAE), Il'giz Tantashev (UZB), Suhaizi Bin Shukri (MAS), Dinh Van Dung (VIE), Kim Hee-gon (KOR), Abdul Raheem Ahmed Shifan (MDV), Khamis Mohamed K A Al-Kuwari (QAT), Abdulrahman Ibrahim Y J Al-Jassim (QAT), Abdulla Ali Abdulla Alaajel Alzaabi (UAE) and Akbarian Mohammadreza (IRN).