Sarah Ho to Make history at 2007 Pre-Season Cup
Twenty eight-year old Sydney-based referee, Sarah Ho will make history this weekend as the first woman to be selected in the Hyundai A-League referees panel.
"I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to officiate in the Hyundai A-League," Ho said today.
"My main motivation is to referee at the highest level possible, and as a result I am looking forward to the challenge of refereeing in the Hyundai A-League.
"Like most elite referees, my ambition is to referee at the FIFA World Cup," concluded Ho.
Football Federation Australia National Refereeing Manager, Richard Lorenc was glowing in his praise of Sarah Ho.
"Throughout the whole selection process Sarah was considered based on merit and had to pass the same theoretical, performance and fitness tests as the men.
"Sarah has proved herself on the local and international stage and we look forward to watching her future development at Hyundai A-league level," concluded Lorenc.
Sarah began her refereeing career in the Blue Mountains of NSW in the Nepean Junior competition. After showing promise at a local level, Sarah refereed at the National Youth Championships for Girls and also Boys Youth League. Sarah, is no stranger to senior men's football having refereed in the NSW Premier League and State League competitions for the past 5 years.
Based on her performances, Sarah was awarded her FIFA Assistant referees badge in 2004 and officiated her first international match in February 2004 at the Australia Cup in Brisbane.
Since then Sarah has been received appointments to the OFC U19 Women's Qualifiers, 2004 FIFA U19 Women's World Championships in Thailand, AFC Asian Women's Cup Qualifiers, 2006 FIFA U20 Women's World Championships and FIFA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Sarah will join the likes of Mark Shield and Matthew Breeze who are currently refereeing at the AFC Asian Cup 2007.
Hyundai A-League 2007/08 - Referees Panel
REFEREES
Matthew Breeze (NSW - FIFA Referee), Chris Beath (QLD), Strebre Delovski (NSW), Kevin Docherty (VIC), Peter Green (QLD - FIFA Referee), Steven Gregory (WA), Michael Hester (NZ - FIFA Referee), James Lewis (NSW), Angelo Nardi (WA - FIFA Referee- FIFA Referee), Peter O'Leary (NZ - FIFA Referee), Simon Przydacz (NSW - FIFA Referee), Mark Shield (QLD - FIFA Referee), Ben Williams (ACT - FIFA Referee), Craig Zetter (SA - FIFA Referee).
ASSISTANT REFEREES
Rodney Allen (NSW - FIFA Assistant Referee), Hakan Anaz (VIC - FIFA Assistant Referee), Brent Best (NZ - FIFA Assistant Referee), Luke Brennan (VIC), Paul Cetrangolo (SA), Peter Chapman (SA), Mathew Cheeseman (WA), Matthew Cream (SA- FIFA Assistant Referee), Paul Dunham (NZ - FIFA Assistant Referee), Joe Fusari (WA), Nathan Gibson (NSW- FIFA Assistant Referee), Alex Glasgow (NSW), Brad Hobson (QLD), Sarah Ho (NSW - FIFA Assistant Referee) , Michael Nugus (WA - FIFA Assistant Referee), Gavin Martin (ACT), Jim Ouliaris (VIC - FIFA Assistant Referee), Jason Power (QLD - FIFA Assistant Referee), Denis Silk (QLD - FIFA Assistant Referee), Nick Waldron (NZ - FIFA Assistant Referee), Murray Wilson (NSW), Ben Wilson (ACT - FIFA Assistant Referee).