Riiohlang, the 34-year-old smart and articulate young lady from Meghalaya, has been named by FIFA among the elite list of FIFA 38 match officials, who will be on call in the Dominican Republic from October 10 to November 3. FIFA revealed the names of the match officials on Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Uvena Fernandes is the first Indian woman assistant referee to get the honour of supervising in the World Cup. She did the duty in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2016 in Jordan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMy appointment for the World Cup has come as a great honour for me,\u201d said Riiohlang, who works for the Meghalaya police department. \u201cI have to work harder to live up to FIFA\u2019s expectations. I will also keep in mind that I will be there as a representative of India. I will do everything to keep India\u2019s flag high,\u201d the assistant referee was quoted as saying by the AIFF media team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Still a single, Riiohlang says refereeing has been a part of her life since 2009. \u201cAfter I stopped playing football, I joined a referee course in my local town and found it interesting since it will keep me in touch with the game I love dearly. So, I decided to take up the whistle and the flag. I have come a long way since then. I have supervised in many international tournaments, but the World Cup is going to be a different experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Chairperson of the AIFF Referees\u2019 Committee, K Sankar, said Riiohlang\u2019s fine performance in AFC and FIFA international matches remained one of the main reasons behind her appointment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn this year\u2019s AFC U17 Women\u2019s Asian Cup in Indonesia, Riiohlang officiated in one of the semifinals and also the third-place play-off. Her performance was excellent. Her appointment is a great honour for the AIFF too. On behalf of the Referees\u2019 Committee, I wish her a great World Cup ahead,\u201d Sankar said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The AIFF Acting Secretary General, M. Satyanarayan, said: \u201cFIFA\u2019s announcement that Riiohlang is among the match officials for the U17 Women\u2019s World Cup is like an Independence Day gift for us. Recently, we have started to focus on referees\u2019 development. To build the base, we have appointed five zonal referees\u2019 development officers. Our Elite Referees\u2019 Development Programme is also doing very well for the match officials at the top of the pyramid. The nomination of Riiohlang Dhar will be a boost for the growing number of women officials in India.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn this year\u2019s AFC U17 Women\u2019s Asian Cup in Indonesia, Riiohlang officiated in one of the semifinals and also the third-place play-off. Her performance was excellent. Her appointment is a great honour for the AIFF too. On behalf of the Referees\u2019 Committee, I wish her a great World Cup ahead,\u201d Sankar said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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