(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The 2002 World Cup final referee Pierluigi Collina, now president of the FIFA referees' committee, has hailed the outstanding capabilities of Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup 2018 Referees Workshop, which is currently being held in Doha.
An almost week-long event, attended by 48 referees, will help football's governing body decide on the final list of those who will officiate at this year's World Cup in Russia. Collina thanked Qatar and the Qatar Football Association for their support by hosting the workshop, as well as providing the best facilities.
During his welcome speech Collina said: 'I would like to thank the state of Qatar and QFA for their support and providing the best facilities in the world to this 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Seminar. It's a pleasure to welcome the best referees of the world here in Doha. We are grateful for the support received so far from the QFA. We are using very good facilities and pitches that are 10 minutes away and are easily accessible.
'I would also like to extend a special thanks to Al Kass Sports Channel for providing us with their state of the art studios, staff and their latest technology and equipment to us for this seminar, the Italian added.
When commenting about the seminar, he said: 'The target of this seminar is not something new for old referees here, but this is a very important week because after the seminar we will make the final decision regarding which referees will be selected for the World Cup 2018 next summer.
He urged the assembled referees to retain their ‘hunger' to be selected for Russia. 'The months between today and the day when the World Cup in Russia kicks off, this period is everything, he said. The referees will practice using the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system during their stay in Doha, said Massimo Busacca, FIFA's head of refereeing, ahead of its expected use in Russia.
There are 48 referees, 35 of referees and 13 video assistant referees (VAR). The opening ceremony of the seminar was attended by Collina, Busaccas, Hani Ballan, Vice Chairman of FIFA and AFC Referees' Committees and Chairman of QFA Referees Committee and Mansoor al-Ansari, General Secretary of the Qatar Football Association (QFA).
Hosted by the QFA, the Referees Seminar is the second of the four workshops hosted by QFA this February.
Last week the first workshop held was the FIFA Technical Experts' Workshop and next week the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 Workshop will be held from 12-16 February, followed by the FIFA Master FUTURO Workshop which will be held from 19-23 February.
MENAFN0602201800670000ID1096439135
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.