Kuala Lumpur: An AFC Women Referees and Assistant Referees Course 2016 has been held successfully in the Malaysian capital city from March 13 to 18.
A total 23 Referees and 30 Assistant Referees attended the course which was conducted by FIFA/AFC Technical Instructors Ali Al Traifi, (Saudi Arabia) and Fukano Etsuko (Japan), as well as FIFA/AFC Fitness Instructors C. Ravichandran (Malaysia) and Zhang Lingling (China). AFC Technical Instructor Niu Hiujun was also appointed to assist during the course.
Theory classes, interactive discussions and sharing were held with on-the field practical sessions taking part at the National Sports Council of Malaysia.
“There are two key words here, ‘Passion’ and ‘Excellence’,” said Hany Ballan, Deputy Chairman of the AFC Referees Committee, referring to the theme of the seminar, during an opening ceremony.
“Without passion, you wouldn’t be here, as you need to sacrifice your time, put in a tremendous effort, and definitely have the love of football and refereeing.
“Excellence is having full commitment to your task, vast knowledge in your field, top-notch teamwork with your group, the ability to understand the situation, integrity and always striving for a higher fitness level - all these are needed in modern football and refereeing.”
The Women Referees and Assistant Referees underwent a six-day course this year, one day more than the previous one.
Ballan said this was for the support of women match officials to strive for excellence in their performance and this summed up how important they were to the refereeing world.
Ballan added: “At the same time the demand for the 53 of you will be huge, and all this cannot be achieved without passion and excellence. I am indeed privileged to be here and meeting all of you today, and rest assured that all of us at the Referees Department, Referees Committee and AFC management are here to facilitate and support you fully”.
Al Traifi, also a member of the AFC Referees Committee Member, thanked the participants for their commitment over the past week and encouraged them to conduct themselves with utmost professionalism and produce excellence each time they enter the field.
He commented that 2015 was a notable year for Asian women match officials as they were selected to officiate the third-place match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015. And an AFC Women Futsal Referee was appointed to the final match of the Women’s Futsal World Tournament in Guatemala.
“It reaffirms the quality of AFC’s training and education programmes to produce world-class officials. With the AFC’s Vision and Mission, we will continue to ensure that our officials, players and teams excel on the biggest stages across the world,” Al Traifi said during the course closing ceremony.
The ceremony was also graced by the presence of retiring women officials Rebello Maria Piedade (India), Yamagishi Sachiko (Japan) and Widiya Habibah (Malaysia) who received plaques as a mark of appreciation for their long refereeing service.
Photo: AFC
Source: the-afc.com