DILI (23 March 2015) – The inaugural AFC Beach Soccer Referees Course kicked off in the Qatari capital city of Doha that was attended by referees who will officiate in the upcoming AFC Beach Soccer Championship 2015.
Sixteen referees are taking part in the four-day course for the championship from March 23 to 28 which doubles up as the Asian qualifiers for July’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015.
The course participants were selected from those officials who had taken part in the AFC Beach Soccer Referees Selection Course in Port Dickson, Malaysia, in June last year.
The Doha course is being delivered by FIFA/UEFA Beach Soccer Referee Instructor Lakhdar Benchabane from France and FIFA/AFC Beach Soccer Referee Instructors Mousavi Seyedsadreddin from Iran and the UAE’s Mohammed Saeed Al Shanasi.
“A lot of thanks go to FIFA and AFC for nominating us as course instructors and we will do our best to share our knowledge and experience throughout the course and competition,” said Benchabane in his welcoming speech.
“I am glad to know that AFC is actively developing Beach Soccer Referees and AFC is the first confederation who has conducted such a course annually.
“I hope the participants will take this opportunity to improve and update their knowledge of the Beach Soccer Laws of the Game as FIFA has recently made amendments to them.”
Fourteen nations will battle it out in four groups in the championship from which the the top three finishers are guaranteed a spot at the Portugal extravaganza.
