HO CHI MINH CITY (25 Dec 2011) – The statistics are certainly stacked against them and it is for that reason that Duong Vu Lam, the chairman of the Vietnam Footaball Fedearation (VFF) has pointed out on the need to train better coaches.
Out of the 110 professional Vietnamese referees and assistants, only three have received FIFA accreditation while in a pre-season tournament last year, 14 out of 65 referees were disqualified for failing fitness tests.
“We want to train lecturers who can coach local referees to meet FIFA standards so they can officiate over World Cup matches in the future,” said Vu Lam, who is also a vice-president of the AFF.
Speaking prior to a training course in Da Nang, Vu Lam pointed out that other than struggling with the physical aspect of their jobs, the fact that referees and assistant referees need English language qualifications required by FIFA to officiate in World Cup matches is an issue.
He said that to ensure the VFF can produce better caliber match officials, they will have to take advantage of training programmes organised by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
