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SUNDAY, MAY 30, 1982
HONG KONG REFEREE FOR WORLD CUP
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ALTHOUGH THE HONG KONG TEAM DID NOT QUALIFY TO PLAY IN NEXT MONTH'S WORLD CUP FINALS IN SPAIN, ONE OF HONG KONG'S SOCCER REFEREES, A RECREATION AND SPORT OFFICER OF THE RECREATION AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT WILL BE THERE.
HE IS MR THOMSON CHAN, 42, WHO HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (FIFA) AS ONE OF THE REFEREES IN THIS IMPORTANT EVENT HELD ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS.
IT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT A CHINESE HAS BEEN SELECTED TO REFEREE IN THESE EVENTS.
A TOTAL OF 24 NATIONAL TEAMS WILL PLAY IN MORE THAN 60 MATCHES IN THE FINALS.
MR CHAN WAS A GOVERNMENT PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND TRANSFERRED TO THE RECREATION AND SPORT SERVICE IN 1975.
DURING HIS CAREER WITH THE RSS, HE HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ORGANISING VARIOUS TEAM GAMES FOR YOUTH AS WELL AS SETTING UP CLASSES FOR REFEREES.
HE WAS A CLASS THREE REFEREE IN 1970 AND BECAME A CLASS ONE REFEREE FOUR YEARS LATER.
+ONE HAS TO REFEREE MORE THAN 20 MATCHES IN TWO YEARS BEFORE ONE CAN BECOME A CLASS TWO REFEREE,+ MR CHAN EXPLAINED.
+DURING THE MATCHES AN ASSESSOR FROM THE HONG KONG FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION WAS PRESENT TO TEST MY ABILITY.
+TO CLIMB TO THE TOP, I HAD TO UNDERGO ANOTHER TWO YEARS OF REFEREEING AND TESTS.
+ALTHOUGH I OBTAINED A CLASS ONE GRADING IN 1974, IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1975 THAT I WAS OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED BY FIFA, HE SAID.
TO BECOME A FIFA RECOGNISED REFEREE, ONE HAS TO HAVE GOOD RECORD OVER SEVERAL YEARS IN BOTH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MATCHES.
DURING HIS REFEREEING CAREER, MR CHAN TOOK PART IN VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL MATCHES THROUGHOUT ASIA AND THE OCEANIA, HIS LATEST IN EARLY MARCH IN THE GULF TOURNAMENT HELD IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.
HE WILL BE LEAVING FOR SPAIN EARLY NEXT MONTH AND ON ARRIVAL WILL HAVE TO UNDERGO A NUMBER OF TESTS INCLUDING A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION.
+1 AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING THERE AND WILL DO MY UTMOST TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT HONG KONG DOES HAVE WORLD-CLASS REFEREES,+ HE ADDED.
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