FIFA official: Need for more PNG female referees

FIFA referees' department senior manager Kari Seitz has highlighted the need to recruit more referees in Papua New Guinea for national and international matches.

Seitz said the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2016 has only two referees from the Oceania region, Finau Vulivuli from Fiji and Maria Tamalelagi from Samoa.

A total of 17 referees and 28 assistant referees from 34 different countries have been officiating at the World Cup.

Seitz encouraged women in PNG to think of refereeing as an option.

“If women see this as an option, then we can encourage them and then get them trained, but first we need to recruit,” Seitz explained.

She said PNG needs to recruit more female referees for national matches and train them so they can improve to referee matches at the Oceania level and eventually FIFA.

Seitz said that you don’t always have to be a player to be a referee as long as you understand the game well.

“The important thing for a referee is to understand football, not only just the rules but what it takes to be a top player.

“You also have to have a lot of courage,” she said.

Seitz added that PNG has done an amazing job with the World Cup and she wished the remaining teams the very best.

Author: 
Quintina Naime