Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek
OFC will have two referees at FIFA Men’s Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan in September.
Antony Riley and Chris Sinclair from New Zealand have both been selected by FIFA to officiate at the tournament.
The highly rated duo officiated in Argentina’s Futsal National Championship in May after impressing during the OFC Futsal Men’s Champions League in New Caledonia in April.
It will be Riley’s second Men’s Futsal World Cup and his last active participation as a match official across football and futsal.
His career started at the age of seven “running the line” with his Dad in Horowhenua and Manawatu before embarking on a journey that has taken him all around the world.
“Yeah, it does have a little bit of extra special nature to it.
“Being able to represent New Zealand Football, Oceania Football Confederation and FIFA in Uzbekistan for me will bring a close to 30 plus years of being a match official across both football and futsal, which is extra special,” said Riley.
“It is a privilege being able to represent your national association and in a refereeing scenario your confederation and colleagues on the international stage, as it is for players and coaches,” Riley added.
Notable competitions Riley has officiated at in his Futsal career:
- 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania
- 2024 OFC Champions League – Final
- 2023 OFC Futsal Nations Cup
- 2019 Oceania Futsal Champions League – Final
- 2018 Youth Olympic Games
- 2016 selected for the FIFA Futsal International List
Sinclair has an equally impressive resume, having attended the last two world cups in Colombia and Lithuania, meaning Uzbekistan will be the third time attending the sports pinnacle event, and second with his good friend Riley.
“Everyone strives to get to a World Cup, and obviously that’s the highest rank that you can probably get to as a match official. To go and to fly the flag again, it’s the key to what all match officials strive to do. So really looking forward to it,” Sinclair said.
The FIFA Referees Committee has appointed 39 match officials from all six confederations. Two female referees, Oriana Andreina Zambrano Medina from Venezuela and Anelize Meire Schulz of Brazil form part of the list of officials.
Following the successful implementation of Video Support (VS) at the previous tournament in Lithuania in 2021, VS will be used again with an additional four cameras covering the touchlines to help match officials make decisions.
This is the first FIFA tournament to be held in Central Asia, all matches will be played in three host cities, Andijan, Bukhara and Tashkent.
See the full list of match officials for the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024 here