AFC Referees Committee Enhances Criteria of Breakthrough AFC Referee Academy

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referees Committee on Tuesday approved several decisions aimed at strengthening the quality of Asia's thriving match officials at its second meeting held virtually, further reiterating its desire to ensure the AFC remains at the forefront of world refereeing. At the outset, Referees Committee Chairperson Hany Taleb Ballan acknowledged the consistent rise of Asian refereeing in the global context. The Qatari official noted the continued appointment of the Continent's match officials on the world's biggest stages. The Committee praised the role of the AFC Referee Academy - now nurturing the skillsets of its fifth batch of referees after recently marking the graduation of Batch 2019 - in producing a constant stream of top level match officials and in extending development support to the AFC Member Associations since its pioneering launch in 2017, the AFC website reported. As part of efforts to ensure its game-changing impact, the Committee approved the Entry Age Criteria and Retention Period of the AFC Referee Academy. The minimum age limit will be increased from 23 to 25 years to align the Confederation with the entry age requirements of FIFA's International Referee nominations. Similarly, taking into consideration the three-year AFC Referee Academy curriculum, the maximum age limit will be raised from 28 to 33 years, bringing it closer aligned to the age criteria of the now-defunct AFC Recruitment Programme. At the same time, members of the Committee noted the importance of leaving no official behind in their learning journey and agreed to extend the retention period of graduates from one to two years, ensuring that no potential promising referee is overlooked for inclusion in the AFC Elite Panel. Members of the Committee were also apprised of the numerous seminars as well as selection and recruitment courses organised for the benefit of the AFC's MAs since its last meeting, which include the AFC Elite Futsal Referees Seminar, the AFC Elite Futsal Referee Instructors Sem inar, the AFC Video Assistant Referees Course and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Referees Seminar, amongst others. Meanwhile, the progress of the AFC MAs' International Referees Quota for 2025-2028 and the AFC MA Refereeing Administration Project was also shared in greater detail. Source: Qatar News Agency