The two groups are made up of referee Norbert Hauata of Tahiti who is joined by Mark Rule of New Zealand and Tevita Makasina of Tonga and New Zealand referee Peter O’Leary with colleagues Jan Hendrick-Hintz of New Zealand and Ravinesh Kumar of Fiji.
The six Oceania representatives joined 21 participants from the Asia Football Confederation as they not only attended lectures, but were also put through their paces physically.
The opening of the seminar, which ran from 22-25 April, was in the presence of FIFA head of refereeing Massimo Busacca who supervised proceedings with director of the AFC Referees Department Yoshimi Ogawa and director of the UAE FA Referees Department Ahmed Yacoob.
“Just 15 months out from the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, we are looking for good preparations,” Busacca says. “We are working and preparing exactly like football teams. We are currently going through qualifiers and we don’t know who will be in the final line-up for the World Cup.”
The seminar started with fitness training at Dubai Police Club stadium, followed by fitness tests for both referees and assistant referees. It also included a programme of educational lectures and applied training with the participation of football players.
Hauata, a FIFA referee since 2008 whose international career includes the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, says the seminar covered a number of subjects which will prove valuable for any trio which makes the cut for the World Cup.
“The subjects we covered included positioning on the field, reading the game, anticipation, movement, protection of players and plenty of other topics too,” he says. “I am sure that it was very beneficial for everyone who attended.
“The importance of such a seminar is the detection of each referee and assistant referee and the improvements in performance since the first seminar in Zurich. So for me, it is very important to attend because you are challenging the other referees in terms of physical and technical ability and trying to out-do them on each point.”
Hauata says the opportunity to represent the Oceania region in Brazil in 2014 is a huge honour that he would be incredibly proud of.
“I will be sure to do my best and keep fighting to get there.”
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com

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