Lahore, 10 Feb : Twenty-five Referees will be exposed to the latest FIFA interpretation and application of the Laws of the game in theory and also practical sessions when FIFA Members Association Elite Referees Course 2009 will be held from 16-20 February at Lahore’s FIFA Football House.
Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF)’s Referee Coordinator and former FIFA Referee Masoud Enayat will act as Instructor, supported by Pakistani-based former FIFA referees Qazi Muhammad Asif and Salah Uddin Awan.
“AFC President Mohamed bin Hamman has declared 2009 ‘AFC Asian Referees Year’ to coincide with a bold new initiative to boost the standard of refereeing in the region. So, it is our responsibility to make sure that we give them the best referees. The best people should be in charge of the best matches,” said Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat who approved Pakistan’s outstanding Soccer Referee Rauf Bari among five Obersevers Instructor for coming the five-day Elite Referees Course 2009 for Pakistan.
Rauf Bari, who received Rs.50,000 last year from PFF Chief as Best referee of Pakistan Premiership 2008, thanked PFF’s high-ups for reposing confidence on him and he will accompany four seasoned campaigners and former FIFA Referees – Ahmed Ali (Karachi), Arif Siddiqui (Lahore), Shahid Ahmed Khan (Rawalpindi) and Hidayat Ullah (Peshawar) as observer instructors in the course which will conclude on 20 February 2009.
The Course, being financed by FIFA, 20 male FIFA, Ex-FIFA and national referees, five females will participate.
MALE REFEREES (20) : Muhammad Iqbal Jr, Shahid Ismail, Abdul Aziz (Karachi), Danish Uddin (Hyderabad), Jahangir Khan, Ghulam Muhamad Samad, Abdul Sattar Badini, Saeed Ahmed Kasi, Muhammad Afzal (Quetta), Asif bin Younus, Waheed Murad (Lahore), Shafaat Habib (Toba Tek Singh), Rana Naseer Ahmed (Faisalabad), Shahid Hussain (Okara), Shahid Rasheed (Arifwala), Muhammad Saleem Khan, Syed Imtiaz Ali Shah, Muhammad Ali Sr, Muhammad Ali Jr (Peshawar) and Chaman Khan (Islamabad).
FEMALE REFEREES (5) : Yasmeen Zareen, Zahra Abbas, Asif Naheed Butt, Khalida Parveen, Ayesha Nisar