No Pakistani in AFC refs panel

KARACHI - After Asian Football Confederation introduced foolproof referee assessment policy to induct fresh hands in AFC referees panel a few years ago Pakistan had failed to get any of his recommended referees on the panel. Under the new AFC policy the old system of directly accepting the nominee of a national federation on the referees panel has been discarded and has been replaced with a system under which the nominee of a national federation has to undergo two referee assessor tests before he could get his name on the panel. The PFF recently recommended Khurram Shahzad for elevation to the AFC referees panel. The AFC accepted the recommendation and announced dates and the venues where technical officials of the AFC would asses the Pakistani nominee. Khuram Shahzad underwent the first assessing test here last week before the AFC assessor Salem Said of UAE who specially flew in here to watch the nominee in action in a premier football league match between NBP and KRL. Mr. Salem is expected to submit his report to the AFC. Khurram Shahzad has to undergo second assessors test here in the city on September 25 when he appears before another AFC technical official from Kuwait. Khurram Shahzad could only reach the AFC referee panel if he passes both the assessing tests. The PFF twice in the past made desperate efforts to get its nominee clinch a place in the AFC referees panel but both the times the nominees failed to get the nod of approval from the AFC referees assessor.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt