Football

Referee Lê Thị Ly and assistant referee Hà Thị Phượng (right). Photos of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Two Vietnamese referees will officiate at the 2024 AFC Women's U20 Championship from March 3- 17 in Uzbekistan.

Referee Lê Thị Ly and assistant referee Hà Thị Phượng will take part in the Tashkent event which will feature Việt Nam as one of eight countries.

Ly is one of three FIFA-certificated referees of Việt Nam. She is an elite official of the Asian Football Confederation who often works at the AFC's official tournaments and key matches.

Assistant referee Phượng has also worked for the AFC for several events such as the AFC Women's Clubs Championship 2023 and 2024 Olympic qualifiers.

Prior to the Uzbekistan competition, Ly will be main referee at a match between North Korea and Japan on February 24 in Pyongyang, North Korea. Hà is assigned to assist her country woman in this match.

At the U20 event, eight teams are divided into two groups. Việt Nam under coach Akira Ijiri will be against tough rivals Japan, North Korea and China in Group B. The first two teams are reigning champions and first runners-up while the last one have experienced in different championship versions.

Group A features Uzbekistan, South Korea Republic, Australia and Chinese Taipei.

The top four teams will qualify for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup 2024, which is slated to begin on August 31 in Colombia. - VNS