On October 28, news came from Qatar that FIFA will host the Elite Referees Seminar for World Cup Candidates for the 2022 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, from November 1 to 5. Ma Ning, an international referee registered by the Chinese Football Association, was invited to attend the meeting, which means that he is very much expected to be among the law enforcement referees in the final stage of next year's World Cup.
It is understood that the referees invited to participate in the seminar are from the AFC, the African Football Federation, the Central And American and Caribbean Football Federation and the Oceania Football Federation. Among them, there are 25 international referees, 8 international assistant referees, and 7 international video assistant referees. Chinese international referee Ma Ning is also among them. This means that Manin has been shortlisted as a referee for the Qatar World Cup and is well expected to eventually participate in the enforcement of this World Cup.
Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter learned that after completing the law enforcement task of the elimination stage of the West Asia region of the AFC Champions League this season, Ma Ning and three other Chinese referees (international referee and VAR referee Fu Ming, international assistant referee Cao Yi and Shi Xiang) continued to reside in Doha, Qatar. Not surprisingly, they will also be involved in law enforcement in the next two rounds of The Round of 12 in November.
It should be said that Chinese international referees have performed well in international competition law enforcement this season. Prior to this, the above four referees and another international referee, Zhang Lei, successfully completed the enforcement tasks of the round of 12 and the AFC Champions League in West Asia. At present, Zhang Lei has returned to China.
It is worth noting that although the seminar is regarded by the refereeing community as a "weather vane" for the selection of referees for next year's World Cup, the referees invited to participate in the seminar do not include the referees of UEFA Member Associations. For a long time, UEFA has been the number one transporter of World Cup referees. Therefore, in the process of selecting the law enforcement referees of the Qatar World Cup, FIFA also needs to undergo repeated research and assessment. Specific to the referee candidates recommended by the AFC, they also face a new round of competition. In addition to Ma Ning, other Chinese international referees, including Fu Ming, also have the opportunity to compete for World Cup enforcement qualifications.
It is understood that before the men's referee seminar, FIFA also held a women's elite referee seminar from the 23rd to the 29th of this month, the purpose of which is to prepare for the enforcement work of the 2023 Women's World Cup. 26 referees from AFC, AFRICAN FOOTBALL, CENTRAL AND NORTH AMERICA and THE CARIBBEAN participated in the seminar and training, and there were no Chinese referees.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Xiao Zhao
Editor/Zhou Xueshuai
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