Hockey India’s efforts will boost officiating standards in the country, says umpire Javed Shaikh

New Delhi, July 13 Two of India's best international match officials Javed Shaikh and Mohammed Muneer have lauded Hockey India’s latest initiative, the ‘Match Officials Education and Development Plan’.

Javed Nuruddin Shaikh, FIH International Pro League Panel Umpire, and Moghul Mohammed Muneer, FIH International Pro League Panel Technical Official, believe that this initiative will further help aspiring umpires and technical officials enhance their skills and knowledge about the game.

Around 350 aspiring umpires and technical officials from across the country have enrolled for the Match Officials Education and Development Plan.

Javed Shaikh has officiated in more than 150 international matches in his illustrious career. Shaikh was also appointed as an umpire for the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2018, 2020 Tokyo Olympics and FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.

Muneer has successfully carried out the responsibility of a technical officer in several national and international tournaments. He was also appointed technical delegate for the Asian Games Qualifiers in Dhaka (2010, 2014) and Muscat (2018) and Johar Boro Junior International Tournament (2016).

Talking about the Match Officials Education and Development Plan initiative, Shaikh said, “This is an excellent step taken by Hockey India. Through this, there will be uniformity in how the umpires of different member units interpret the rules during the game."

"It will act as a base where everyone can share their knowledge of FIH rules and regulations about the game and learn from educators and each other. I am sure that it will be a big boost for the match officials. What is happening right now is, everyone is umpiring in their states and with limited knowledge. Once they go through this course, everyone will get the same knowledge and that in turn will help develop hockey overall. This is a stepping stone by which an aspiring candidate can also be part of Hockey India’s officiating system,” said Javed Shaikh.

Meanwhile, Muneer shared his thoughts on the Match Officials Education and Development Plan initiative. He said, “I would like to thank Hockey India for coming up with the Match Officials Education and Development Plan. Through this, the aspiring umpires and technical officials will get a chance to hone their knowledge, skills and at the same time, it will also act as a platform where the transfer of knowledge will take place. It should be promoted more as there are several young aspiring umpires and technical officials who want to officiate at a national level and international level.”

Earlier, Hockey India notified its member units to nominate their registered umpires and technical officials through the Hockey India Member Unit Portal. As part of the development process, the nominated candidates will be further selected by Hockey India as per their eligibility and will be attending the Hockey India Umpires & Technical Officials workshops scheduled in July 2023.

The course will be held in five zones namely in New Delhi, Pune, Andhra Pradesh, Jamshedpur and North East. The venue and the registration process for the North East zone will be done in the coming days, Hockey India informed in a release on Thursday.