July 17 – The AFC Referees Committee, meeting virtually, highlighted their commitment to produce world-class match officials via the multiple training and development programmes the regional governing body has implemented.
The committee praised the AFC and Australian trio of Alireza Faghani, Anton Shchetinin and Ashley Beecham, who officiated the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final between eventual winners Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
Asian match officials were also prominent at the U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024, and the U-20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024 – both of which saw DPR Korea crowned champions – as well as the Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 .
The Committee said the role of the AFC Referee Academy was at the centre of developing top-level match officials and providing crucial development support to the AFC Member Associations (MAs) since its launch in 2017.
A total of 246 men and women referees from 44 AFC MAs have graduated or are in the midst of benefitting from the AFC Referee Academy’s curriculum, with 104 referees registered on the FIFA international list, as well as 58 alumni already part of the Elite Panel.
The Academy, which started its sixth batch of students in November 2024, was also praised for opening to participants from four MAs for the first-time: Brunei Darussalam, Macau, Philippines, and Timor-Leste.
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