Tahitian referee Norbert Hauata and assistant referees Mark Rule (New Zealand) and David Charles (Papua New Guinea) have been hand-picked for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, set to take place in Mexico from June 18 to July 10.
New Zealand referee Peter O’Leary has likewise been earmarked for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and will be joined by assistants Jackson Namo (Solomon Islands) and Ravinesh Kumar (Fiji) for the tournament in Colombia from July 29 to August 20.
The appointment continues a recent run of memorable events for O’Leary, who travelled to South Africa to officiate at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he acted as fourth official for a handful of matches, including the eagerly-anticipated clash between heavyweights Portugal and Brazil.
Hauata has also been the man in the middle for several high profile matches in recent months. He refereed the second leg of the 2011 O-League final between Auckland City and Amicale in New Zealand last month and also took part in last year’s Youth Pacific Games in Singapore, where he was joined by assistant referees Rule and Kumar.
The involvement of the two OFC trios in the upcoming FIFA events is the latest positive result of the Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP).
OFC places great importance on developing world-class referees and this has been strongly supported by FIFA through its funding of the programme.
Under the supervision of referee development officer Massimo Raveino, referee instructor Neil Poloso and fitness trainer Kader Touati, the programme is helping to create a more organised, professional approach to refereeing in the Pacific.