Indian female referee selected to officiate in FIFA World Cup

The official was also part of the tournament in 2016.

In another milestone for Referring in India, Uvena Fernandes has been selected to officiate as an Assistant Referee in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup slated to be held in France from August 5-24, 2018.

The new feather in Uvena’s cap comes after she had earlier become the first Indian Woman Assistant Referee to officiate in a FIFA World Cup including the final match when she even officiated in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final match between Japan and DPR Korea.

She had officiated four FIFA World Cup matches in the Women’s FIFA U-17 World Cup for which she was awarded an AFC Referees Special Award in 2016.

“It is like another dream coming true and I cannot believe that I will be officiating in my second FIFA World Cup in less than two years,” she told AIFF “I thank AIFF for all the guidance and help.”

“It is not only a boost for me, it’s a boost for Women’s Football and Women’s Refereeing in general and it shows that Indian Referees can also make it to the big stage on a regular basis,” she added.

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Lauding Uvena’s appointment, Kushal Das, General Secretary of the AIFF said that the manner AIFF have focused on Refereeing development, “it was on the cards.”

“Development of Indian Referees stays on our priority list. It’s nice to see Indian Referees get International recognition. She had earlier been selected to officiate in the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup and now she will be officiating in the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup. Congratulations Uvena. I wish her all the best,” the General Secretary said.

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All India Football Federation’s Head of Referees Col. (Retd.) Goutam Kar said, “Uvena has been a trendsetter for referees in India and her selection proves that she is at par with some of the best referees in the World. This is also a promotion for India’s Women's referees how refereeing has drastically progressed in the country.”

“The AIFF has been committed for overall development of Indian referees and Uvenas's selection proves that we are on the right track,” he added.