Rebello and Fernandes set to Officiate Asian Games

Two Indian women referees have been selected to officiate at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, in September.

Maria Rebello and Uvena Fernandes are the first women referees picked by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to supervise Asian Games matches and they are all too excited about the break they have been given.

"I am overwhelmed, this will be my first match abroad and I'm feeling very excited," Fernandes, who received her FIFA certification badge only this year, told IANS.

"I'm not nervous at all. I have faith in my abilities and I have prepared well, I'm just raring to go," said Fernandes, who for the past five-six years has been officiating Subroto Cup matches.

While Fernandes, 32, is a relative new-bee, her partner Rebello has acquired the knack of keeping grown men in check on the field. Rebello, 42, a former India senior women's national team captain and a regular referee in the Goa pro-league, became the first woman to oversee I-League and Santosh Trophy matches earlier this year.

However, the remarkable journey for the two, who are leaving for Incheon Sep 10, hasn't been easy and both have credited the head of the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) referees department, Gautam Kar, for the boom in the number of women referees.

A look at the FIFA list of women referees shows only two Indians whereas a tiny West African nation like Benin with a population of less than 10 million, has seven. Many other smaller African nations have also produced more women referees. India has a lot a catching up to do, but the two Indian referees feel things are improving.

"The development of women referees in India is in the best hands. What he (Gautam Kar) has done for it cannot be explained in words. He has been instrumental for us becoming refs. The fact that the U-19 women's nationals in Cuttack was manned by all-women referees for the first time goes to show what sort of depth there is in the country," said Rebello.

Fernandes feels that with top-level professional leagues like the Indian Super League (ISL) springing up in the country, it's only a matter of time before more and more Indian referees get to officiate in international matches and tournaments.

"Professional leagues will give opportunities to young referees, both men and women, to hone their skills. Hopefully, with that experience and exposure we hope to get nominated for bigger tournaments around the world," Fernandes said.

AFC Delegates conduct I-League Workshop

The first AIFF Club Licensing Workshop for the 2014/15 Football season successfully took place at the AIFF Headquarters, Football House, New Delhi, on Friday, August 29.

Present on the occasion were officials from AFC (Asian Football Confederation), as well as, representatives from the I-League Clubs including new entrants Kalyani Group, who are to participate in the upcoming season. Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League, also graced the occasion.

The objective of the workshop was to give the Clubs an insight into different aspects of the game, both on-and-off the field. The discussions dealt on marketing and promotion of the Clubs, match day activities, operations, roles of support staff and other relevant issues.

Speaking on the success of the workshop, Dhar said: “It is great to see nine out of 11 clubs having the AFC license today. Licensing has definitely got the clubs together.

“Stronger the I-League clubs become, the stronger AIFF becomes. The stronger you (the Clubs) become, the league becomes stronger.”

“Remember, you have to represent India in Asia.”

Mr. Windsor John, Deputy General Secretary, AFC, also Head of Competitions, asserted the importance of the Club Licensing, and mentioned AFC’s commitment to help improve football in India.

“First of all, I congratulate I-League for conducting this workshop,” Mr. John said.

“Club Licensing is a very important feature in the AFC Champions League assignment. The Clubs need to understand that this is not a policing license, but a license to develop.

“Hence, I ask all the clubs to embrace it. India has got tremendous potential. Small steps, a long-term plan, and the right people, can take it a long way.”

Mr. Mahajan Nair, Head of Club Licensing, AFC highlighted club development with special significance on the AFC development program – the Kick Off project.

Furthermore, Mr. Javed Siraj, newly appointed Integrity Officer of the AIFF, stressed on match integrity highlighting on the menace of match fixing and betting.

The event was also used to hand over the AFC Certificates to the nine I-League Clubs (except new entrants Royal Wahingdoh FC and the Kalyani Group-owned team) who successfully fulfilled the Indian Club Licensing criteria for the 2014/15 season.

“Club Licensing is a very good initiative for India. It has done wonders for the game”, said R.A.J Gomes, General Secretary, Salgaocar FC.

Mr. John also conducted an interactive session on match day operations and the role of LGC’s (Local General Coordinators) for matches, where he explained the do’s and don’ts for match days and the responsibilities of the Clubs and the support staff.

AFC Head of Marketing Operations, Mr. Yong-Chul Yun complemented it by speaking on match day promotions.

Defending I-League champions Bengaluru FC were represented by Mr. Dhruv Nagarkatti, who also spoke on match day operations and other promotional activities, via a vivid audio-visual presentation.

McDowell Mohun Bagan, who recorded the highest supporters attendance count for an I-League club last season, appointed Mr. Debashish Dutta, to speak on the attendance of I-League clubs.

Meanwhile, Shillong Lajong FC representatives Mr. Habamutlang Lyngdoh and Mr. Nikhil Sharma spoke about the marketing and promotion of I-League Clubs. They gave an overview of their Club’s brand philosophy and the football scenario in the North-East.

“We want to make sure that talent coming from North-East plays for Shillong Lajong FC,” said Nikhil.

A brief history of the Club, the grassroots development programs, the community building initiatives, the interactions with fans, and other details were touched upon.

Dhar thanked all the AFC delegates, and also informed that there are plans for a workshop on marketing, to be conducted by FIFA, at the end of this year.

“We thank all the AFC officials, as well as all the Clubs, so much for coming here today. We hope to organise these workshops every year.

“AIFF next plans to organise a FIFA workshop in November-December 2014 on marketing.”

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS:

SALGAOCAR FC: R.A.J. Gomes, Adlear D’Cruz, Rahul Rodrigues, Nicholas Falcao

PUNE FC: Dr. B. Ashok Kumar

MUMBAI FC: Atul Badgamia, Prashant Godbole

MOHUN BAGAN: Prince Rufus, Debashish Dutta

ROYAL WAHINGDOH: Dominic Sutnga, Anoop Abraham, Rajas Joshi, Sanjib Das

EAST BENGAL: Arunava Bhattacharya

SPORTING GOA: Victor Fernandes, Edward Noronha

BENGALURU FC: Dhruv Nagarkatti, Premankur Barua

SHILLONG LAJONG: Nikhil Sharma, Habamutlang Lyngdoh

DEMPO SC: Abhijit Patil

KALYANI GROUP: R Ramakrishnan