SATUC’s founder Sheikha Al Thani was lucky enough to meet two legends of the game: Howard Webb and Mike Riley.

Mr Webb officiated in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as refereeing a number of notable matches in England during that time including the FA Cup final, the FA Community Shield, and the final of the Football League Cup. In 2010, he refereed the final of the UEFA Champions League and the final of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. An achievement that earned him an MBE in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to football.

Mr. Riley became a National Football League referee in 1994, having previously served five years on their assistant referees’ list. He was later granted FIFA status in 1999 allowing him to officiate international fixtures. He is an eminent figure both domestically and internationally, having refereed in the Premier League for a number of years and in the Euro 2004 competition. In 2009, Mr. Riley put down his whistle to become the manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOB), a position he still holds.

“It was a privilege to meet two of the distinguished names within the football world. Referees are so often overlooked and people seem to forget how much they do for the game and how hard a job it really is” – Sheikha Al-Thani

Both Mr. Webb and Mr. Riley were very interested in SATUC’s work and seemed to share many of the core values that the SATUC CUP is built on.  In particular, the idea that football can provide children with the tools to succeed in life: communication, teamwork, leadership, effort, and discipline are just some of the crucial attributes that we hope to promote at the tournament.

SATUC has invited both Mr Webb and Mr Riley to become SATUC Ambassadors to the 2015 SATUC Cup and with the support of such esteemed and influential figures within the football world, we are confident we can lay strong foundations as we build for the future.