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MEDIA RELEASE
#119/2018
December 5, 2018 Largest-ever cast of match officials appointed for AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019
With the expansion of Asia's most prestigious tournament from 16 to 24 teams, a record 60 match officials – comprising 30 referees and assistant referees each – have been appointed to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, which is scheduled to kick-off in one month's time on January 5, 2019.
The largest-ever contingent, which will also be supported by four reserve officials, will see a diverse range of nationalities, with 19 Member Associations represented across the five AFC zones.
The Continent's best referees and assistant referees were selected based on their skill, technical knowledge, management competence and physical fitness. They will be expected to perform various roles including Additional Assistant Referees, Reserve Assistant Referees as well as Video Assistant Referees (VAR), which will come into force from the quarter-final stage.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: "The AFC's Vision and Mission underlined our desire to be leaders of the global game and the world-class stature of AFC referees was further underlined when a record 16 match officials were appointed to the FIFA World Cup in July.
"Today, we announce the largest-ever contingent to the UAE and I would like to congratulate all our match officials on their appointments to the biggest and best AFC Asian Cup in history.
"The expansion of the AFC Asian Cup was a strategic decision which benefitted not only the teams and players, but in all areas of football development, including enhancing the opportunities for our referees to shine on the biggest stages."
As part of the main cast, the AFC also appointed a guest trio from Concacaf, led by FIFA World Cup Russia referee Cesar Arturo Ramos from Mexico, as part of the existing exchange programme between the two Confederations with an Asian trio set to feature in the Concacaf's Gold Cup later this year.
The appointments are a culmination of a robust and comprehensive preparation programme dating back to the conclusion of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.
Since then, ten seminars have been organised to ensure optimum consistency and uniformity and the highest level of refereeing standards.
As the Continent shifts its attention to the UAE, a final preparatory course is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi five days prior to the competition, which has been designed specifically to focus on the seamless implementation of the VAR system.
The list of AFC match officials can be found here.
About the AFC Asian Cup:
The AFC Asian Cup is the pinnacle international team tournament held by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) every four years to determine the champion of Asia. The competition is the second-oldest continental football championship (after the Copa America) and was first held in 1956. The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019TM expands the number of participating nations from 16 to 24, making it the biggest tournament ever.
The 2019 tournament will be the second time the UAE has hosted the event, after successfully staging the finals in 1996. The Asian Cup UAE 2019 runs from 5 January to 1 February 2019, with 51 matches being played in eight world class stadiums located across four host cities - Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Match schedules and tickets for purchase are available on www.the-AFC.com. For group ticket packages contact groups@asiancup19.ae.
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