But she is not finished yet and would like to be involved in the next edition of the event in four years’ time in Canada, as well as heading to London next year for the Olympic Games.
“Another World Cup is definitely the goal but you are always trying to experience different tournaments so my aim is for the Olympics next year, I’m working hard towards that,” she says.
Vulivuli finally fulfilled her World Cup dream by controlling the Group A action between Canada and Nigeria in Dresden and was also fourth official for both the Norway-Equatorial Guinea and Sweden-Korea DPR group games.
Vulivuli was joined by assistant referees Jacqui Stephenson (New Zealand) and Lata Tuifutuna (Tonga) for Nigeria’s upset 1-0 win as the three made history by becoming the first non-Australia OFC match official trio to ever referee a FIFA Women’s World Cup match.
Vulivuli was proud to write herself into the record books and says the experience will live long in her memory.
“It was great and the atmosphere was fantastic,” she says. “You are not used to having so many cameras focused on you but we have prepared well for the last four years so knew we would be okay.”
The school teacher needed to draw on that preparation when a challenging situation arose at the Rudolf Harbig Stadion with just under 20 minutes to go. The game had passed by without major incident up until that point but Vulivuli had to think on her feet when a floodlight failure plunged the stadium into darkness.
“It was quite lucky because the ball had just gone out for a throw in – it would’ve been worse if it was a key moment,” she says.
“I just went to get the ball and spoke calmly to my assistants to tell them to keep control. I then called the captains over and explained what the situation was and what the outcome might be if it got worse. We were able to have a laugh about it.”
The problem led to a delay of around ten minutes and Nigeria appeared to have reacted best to the break, scoring what proved to be the winner in the 84th minute through Perpetua Nkwocha.
The only other significant action Vulivuili was forced into was the brandishing of a yellow card to Nigeria’s Onome Ebi in the 59th minute.
“I was happy with the performance. We expected to have more tough situations to deal with but I think we set the tone from the beginning and everything was calm,” the Savusavu resident says.
“I actually wasn’t nervous at all, I was totally calm. I usually feel a few nerves which some would say is probably a good thing. But I was completely calm for this one. I knew I was really prepared and couldn’t wait for my game.
“It’s something I have been working towards for a long time so it feels nice to have finally achieved it. It’s everybody’s goal to get to the World Cup and I think it’s the pinnacle of my refereeing career so far.”
Prior to her appearance at Germany 2011, Vulivuli had taken part in two other FIFA tournaments – the U-17 Women’s World Cups in 2008 and 2010 – and the prestigious Algarve Cup in Portugal.
She turns 29 next month and insists she has not stopped adding to her impressive CV yet.
“I’m grateful all the hard work and sacrifice has paid off but, for me, there is more to come. It’s good that, at this age, I have already been able to reach that level and understand what the expectations are.”
The former Fiji international had no intention of picking up a whistle during her playing days and admits she stumbled into refereeing more by chance than design.
“I was in the national team for the Olympic Games play-offs in 2004 and that was the first time I had ever seen female match officials. I didn’t know they even existed before then. I then went back to my island and tried to put together a women’s football team.
“The Fiji Football Association was conducting a referees course at the time and I tried to get myself acquainted with the officials, simply to get them to assist us with getting the team off the ground. They said, ‘Well, why don’t you join the course and we’ll speak later’. So I signed up and did extremely well – it just went on from there.”
Vulivuli feels her background as a player made the transition to refereeing easier.
“I think it’s a bonus because you are able to anticipate play better and understand the players. When I first started I thought it was boring but, once I got into it and started making the correct decisions, I really enjoyed it. I don’t regret giving up playing at all.”