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Alex King of Australia is the among the first AFC Referee Academy graduates to be appointed in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) top-level competition, underlining the AFC’s Vision and Mission through the Academy to ensure Asia’s match officials continue to grace the biggest stages in world football.
The 30-year-old King recently graduated from the AFC Referee Academy and took charge of his first match of the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup – Uzbekistan Group A clash between debutants Turkmenistan and Iran at the Bunyodkor Stadium on Saturday.
King, who completed the four-year programme before graduating in 2022, was delighted with his debut appointment.
“The AFC Referee Academy is a great platform for potential referees to improve and become better match officials. I’m proud to be part of the AFC Referee Academy and to earn my first call up as a referee.”
“There is still room for me to improve on but the education and guidance that I have received has given me a strong foundation to build on,” said the Australian.
Uzbekistan’s Rustam Lutfullin, another AFC Referee Academy graduate, also received his first AFC appointments as a fourth official for two Group B matches between Australia and Kuwait, and Kuwait versus Jordan.
Since its launch in 2017, the first-of-its-kind AFC Referee Academy has benefited over 160 match officials from 35 Member Associations, with as many as 46 now registered on the FIFA international list.
