Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Project Future Referee Batch 2011 successfully graduated today after a rigorous development course of two years.
A total of nine young referees who made it into all four development courses organised in the span of two years are from nine different member associations of Asia.
The candidates were selected through a pool of more than 100 aspiring referees from the AFC Football Festival organised at different regions of Asia in 2011.
A total of 20 made it into the selection course organised in Kuala Lumpur and only 13 made it into the first development course which followed with 12 participants in the second development course held in the Maldivian capital Male’.
Only nine participants made into the third course in Fukuoka Japan and all of those participants successfully graduated from the course after completing the final development course which concluded today.
Congratulating the participants, AFC Deputy General Secretary Windsor John stressed on the continual process of learning to become amongst the elite of respective professions.
“Passing a course does not mean it’s the end, rather it’s the beginning for you,” said Windsor.
“Being a referee, you are not only important to your member associations but you are very important part of Asian football as AFC has a target of sending more Asian referees in the FIFA World Cup and other big events.
“The most important thing for a referee to have is humility without which you will lose your focus. So stay humble, work with passion and keep on learning, I am sure that you have the potential to become one of the top referees in the world,” he added.
The graduates are: Zhang Cheng (China), Rahul Eric Dsa (India), Zaid Thamer (Iraq), Takuma Matsuda (Japan), Kim Woo Sung (Korea Republic), Khalid Salleh Alturais (Saudi Arabia), Hanna Hattab (Syria), Chen Hsin Chuan (Chinese Taipei) and Nayim Qosimov (Uzbekistan).