New Zealand Football are pleased to confirm that 12 Kiwi referees have been approved by the FIFA Referees Committee to officiate football and futsal matches at international level in 2022. 

Approved to referee football are: Matthew Conger, Anna-Marie Keighley, Nadia Browning, Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh and Nicholas Waldron. 

Approved to assistant referee football are: Mark Rule, Sarah Jones, Gareth Sheehan, Isaac Trevis and Edward Cook.

Approved to referee futsal are: Chris Sinclair and Antony Riley. 

The appointments come at the end of a great year on the international stage for officials from Aotearoa New Zealand. This spring futsal referees Chris Sinclair and Antony Riley were both heavily involved in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania, with Chris Sinclair playing a part in the Final as the second assistant referee. This month has seen Matt Conger travel to Qatar for the FIFA Arab Cup where he was the fourth official in the Final. 

New Zealand Football Referee Development Manager Lindsey Robinson was pleased to see Kiwi officials being recognised internationally. 

“Having 12 of our officials selected to referee internationally is great recognition for the talent we have in Aotearoa.

“We have seen this year through the tournaments that Chris, Antony and Matthew have been to just how far refereeing can take you. They are a great example of the potential pathway for future officials from this part of the world.

“I look forward to now seeing more of our referees on the international stage in 2022, officiating at the highest level of the game.”


Article added: Tuesday 21 December 2021