The Fiji FA /FIFA referee has targeted a FIFA appointment and believes officiating at the 2014 OFC Champions League is a major step towards achieving his goal.
The Labasa-based Holy Family Secondary school teacher – who coached Fijian international striker Roy Krishna during his tenure at All Saints – dreams of following in the footsteps of Fiji FA referees Ravinesh Kumar, Suresh Behari and Rakesh Varman who all excelled at FIFA tournaments.
“I love playing football and I always wanted to represent the Labasa football side,” Chand said.
“As a teacher I was tasked to coach a side which then provided me an opportunity to officiate a game as that time there were a low number of referees in Labasa.
“After officiating the games I saw the opportunities that were presented to me as a referee and I made up my mind to pursue my career as a referee.”
Chand got his first Fiji FA appointment in 2007 during a Labasa-Lautoka league match.
An injury later in his career sidelined Chand for a season but he was quick to recover and regained his spot in the FIFA referees panel.
“Pursuing a career as a referee is a challenging one as one has to be fit and prepared to adapt to the fast changing game.
“I have officiated in Oceania playoffs and major Fiji FA events but my ultimate goal is to officiate at a FIFA age group or senior World Cup event.
“I guess all local referees might be aiming for that but it is good to see everyone trying,” Chand added.
The Labasa school teacher has passed his fitness test and is now looking forward to the OFC Champions League.
With a legacy of Fijian match officials to emulate and a keen eye for opportunity, nobody would write off Chand’s chances.
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