DOHA: FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is currently on a trip to Qatar, on Sunday met with officials attending an Elite Referees Refresher Course being held at Sheraton Doha Hotel.

The Elite Referees Refresher Course is being conducted from Aug 24 to Sept 7.

Infantino met with Qatar Football Association (QFA) officials as well as referees attending the course. The FIFA President praised QFA for setting high standards in developing the technical side of the sport.

The visiting delegate was given detailed insight into QFA’s past courses that have been headlined by Massimo Busacca, Head of FIFA’s Refereeing Department. The ongoing course is attended by Busacca and Mike Van der Rost – Head of FIFA Video Technology.

A total of 60 referees are part of the course. Referees from Syria, Palestine and Djibouti are part of the ongoing course.

Infantino was accompanied by FIFA Deputy Secretary General – Football Mattias Grafström and popular football pundit and former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger. They were all received by the Director of QFA’s Referees Department, Naji Al-Juwaini.

Infantino delivered a speech to the referees in which he said: “I am pleased to be here among you people. Such courses are an essential part of football development around the world -although more so since Qatar is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup next year.”

He added: “I have seen remarkable football development in Qatar – not just on the pitch but off the field as well. FIFA is thrilled to be part of this course and we must remember refereeing is an important part of the game. It is also good to see participation of referees from around the region.

Naji Al-Juwaini said: “QFA is happy to welcome the FIFA President and other dignitaries today to this course. We feel your presence is of great significance since we all are in this together to boost the sport.”

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