'We mean business'

Speaking on Thursday while officially closing the Elite Men’s Referees’ Course Group 2, part of the AFC Elite Education Seminar 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Alex said:

“Teams and clubs are getting more professional and competitive now and they are not sparing money to constantly stay on the cutting edge of the game.

“During the recent courses and workshops for the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, many clubs’ representatives who took part expressed their ambition to win in the competition saying they are willing to spend big money because they mean business. So, we also mean business.

“So, we’d like to see you go down to the field and officiate with full dignity and honour. We love to see you wear the AFC badge on your shirt that says ‘The Future is Asia’.

Dato’ Alex also laid down the priority for the upcoming year that will be more challenging than last year and reiterated the referees’ roles.

“This year will be more challenging where we will have the World Cup qualifiers, Olympic qualifiers, FIFA and AFC youth competitions, as well the club competitions on Asian soil,” he said.

“We all depend on you the referees because you are our ambassadors in these competitions. We would like to see you give your all when you represent Asian on the field of play.

“We don’t care whether Team A or team B wins. What we care about is that you win.”

The referees can rest assured that their development is the utmost priority of the AFC and FIFA who are working together to improve their capability and performance.

“FIFA and AFC are working closely together to develop you and there’s an abundance of top-rate instructors some of whom are with you during this course,” said Dato’ Alex.

“The AFC Referees Committee headed by its Chairman Dato’ Worawi Makudi have also vowed to develop further our men in the middle so that this year particularly our referees will excel more both on the continental and world stages.”