While most New Zealanders spent much of September stuck at home, two Kiwis have been representing the country 17,000 km away on the global stage.  

Representing OFC and New Zealand Football, Riley (Central Football) and Sinclair (Mainland Football) have spent the last three weeks at the tournament in Lithuania. The pair kicked-off by refereeing the hosts opening game, as Lithuania took on Venezuela at the Kaunas Arena, followed by each individually being involved in a number of other group games as described in their blog from the tournament. 

Antony Riley and Chris Sinclair are two of the leading referees in Aotearoa. FIFA qualified futsal referees since 2016 and 2014 respectively, their experience saw them selected in July 2021 by FIFA to officiate at this year’s Futsal World Cup.  

At the weekend they both took charge of their highest profile game to date, the quarter-final between RFU and defending champions Argentina with Antony Riley as referee and Chris Sinclair as second referee. The tightly fought game ended 1-1 meaning it came down to penalties. A 4-5 win took the holders Argentina to the semi-finals. 

But it wasn’t just the Argentines progressing as Riley and Sinclair were asked to stay on at the tournament for the remaining games, meaning they will likely be officiating in the highest profile games for New Zealand referees since 1992. 

“This is a great example of the pathway refereeing can offer” says Lindsey Robinson, Referee Development Manager at New Zealand Football. 

“It’s huge for refereeing in New Zealand to show where you can go in the game. Chris and Antony are brilliant officials and it is really good to see that being recognised at the highest level. 

“It is exciting to have role models like them for our other referees to aspire to and we wish them all the best for the remainder of the tournament”.

The sentiments were echoed by Ronan Naicker, Futsal Development Manager at New Zealand Football:

“This is excellent recognition for Chris, Antony and futsal in New Zealand. It showcases the opportunities that futsal provides on the world stage”

The FIFA Futsal World Cup ends on October 4. For a full match schedule visit FIFA.com.

Article added: Wednesday 29 September 2021