Two Vietnamese referees to officiate at 2024 AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup finals

Le Thi Ly from Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Thi Phuong from the northern city of Hai Phuong will work as main referee and referee assistant of the matches, to take place in Tashkent city from Feb. 28 to March 17.

Referee Le Thi Ly during a football match at SEA Games 31 in Vietnam, May 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

Ly is one of the three female referees acknowledged by FIFA in Vietnam and she concurrently serves as a senior referee of the AFC.

In 2023, she was appointed to officiate in various football events, including the first qualifying round of AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup from March 6 -13 in Thailand, the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, the second qualifying round of AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup in Myanmar, the Southeast Asian U19 Football Championship in Indonesia, Asian Games 19 in Wenzhou (China), the second qualifying round of the 2024 Paris Olympics in China, and the AFC Women's Club Championship in Chonburi, Thailand.

Ha Thi Phuong works as an assistant referee. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

In January, Ly and Phuong were also appointed by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to officiate the match between the women's national football teams of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Japan scheduled for Feb. 24 in Pyongyang, the DPRK.