Loughborough University student Una Hong has been recognised as Asia’s top female referee at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) annual awards ceremony hosted in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur last month (24 November).
The Korean national, who is studying for a PhD in Sport Policy at the University, beat fellow referees Jacqui Melksham of Australia and Thailand’s Pannipar Kamnueng to the prestigious gong which is objectively awarded based on points achieved for performances at international matches over the last year.
Hong receives support from Loughborough’s sports scholarship programme and she was quick to publicly thank the University for its backing when collecting her award.
“I am so happy to be here today for this award,” she said. “I would like to thank my university and the FA for helping me achieve my goals, and my family too. I didn't expect to receive such an award.”
Hong took on some challenging matches in 2009, as both a referee and fourth official in the AFC U19 Women’s Championship in China and at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying games.
She is a FIFA qualified referee and has previously officiated at the Beijing Olympic Games,
including women’s semi-final between Germany and Brazil, the Doha Asian Games, the FIFA U20 Women’s Championship and the FIFA U19 Women's Championship.
In the UK she is a level four referee, regularly officiating at semi-professional men’s matches and most recently she has started refereeing The FA women’s premier league.
The AFC awards provide a platform to showcase Asian talents in football, celebrating honour and excellence in the sport since 1994.
