Qatar Football AssociationNews
23.05.2018 2:27 in : &

DOHA: The Qatar Football Association (QFA) feted the outstanding match referees and officials at a glittering closing ceremony held to mark the end of the 2017-18 football season.

The ceremony was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the presence of Hani Ballan, member of the Executive Committee of the QFA and Chairman of the Referees Committee.

A number of guests from Tunisia, Switzerland, Belgium, school principals, officials of the Aspire Academy as well as referees and match representatives were also present on the occasion.

The ceremony began with the honoring of the former members Talab Blan Saber, Rostam Haji Baqer, Hassan Abdullah Al Mulla, Sultan Mutlaq and Salem Eid Salem.

International referee Abdullah Al-Neda, Talib Al-Marri and Khalid Ayyad were also honoured.

Referees Khamis Al-Kuwari, Mutasim Ahmed, Faisal Al-Shammari Mohammed Ahmed Al-Sherif, Khalid Al Mulla and Faisal Abdullah were some of the names to receive trophies.

Three referees from the Aspire Academy’s Ali Faisal Al Haddad, Abdul Aziz Badr and Mohammed Yousif Ibrahim were also honoured.

During the ceremony, the principals of the schools that conducted courses for new referees were also given certificates.

In his opening speech, Ballan welcomed those present at the gathering and praised the efforts exerted by QFA under the chairmanship of HE Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the QFA, to develop the game in Qatar.

Ballan also praised the efforts of the referees administration led by Naji Al-Juwaini. He said: “I thank all the members of the media, school principals, lecturers, referees and trainers for their efforts to raise the profile of Qatar football.”

He added: “The Qatari referees have exerted great efforts in all tournaments this season. We are getting to see a vastly improved performances from everyone concerned with this department. We also got to see a number of lectures and conferences held in the season gone by.”

He pointed out that one of the most important successes achieved this season was QFA’s hosting of four key FIFA-backed conferences held in Doha at the end of January and February.

Al-Juwaini, Executive Director of Referees Department, thanked all those who contributed to the success of Qatari referees at all levels.

“We thank Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of QFA and members of the Executive Committee. I also thank Mr Hani Ballan, Chairman of the Referees Committee, for his generous all-round support. We have found all the support that we need and that has contributed significantly in the success of programs that we executed to develop the game in Qatar,” he said.

Al-Juwaini said that the development work has been ongoing in Qatar since it started 14 years ago.

“We have achieved many successes over the years but we have not reached the summit yet. We need to follow a steady pace to produce the best results and further develop the game in our country,” he added.