Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA) - Kuwait now in its 28th year !!!

IFRA Annual General Body Meeting


The 27th annual general body meeting of the Indian Football Referees' Association (IFRA) - Kuwait will be held on Friday, August 8, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.
at the Avanti Palace Restaurant, Salmiya - Kuwait. Please note the change in venue accordingly. All members are requested to be present.

IFRA was formed on December 5, 1980, by a group of Seven-7 expatriate Indians, qualified as referee and the members of Bombay and Goa Referees' Associations, later called as, the Founder Members, with the blessings of The Kuwait Football Association.

The Association was then headed by (late) Mr. Jerome Pascoal D'Mello, (popularly known in India and Kuwait as J.P). Ex-FIFA Referee and Member of Asian Football Confederation Referees Committee and Ex-Hon. Secretary and member of Bombay Referees' Association, as President, until his departure to India in 1986. J.P. D'Mello, who lived in Andheri East, Bombay, left for his heavenly abode in 1994. He was succeeded by Vice-President, Dominic Monserrate, a member of Goa Football Referees' Association, for a brief period as President in 1987. Apolinaris Ejechial D'Souza (A.E. D’Souza), a member of Bombay Referees' Association since 1964, and the Founder Hon. Secretary from 1980 to 1986, a Member of the Board of Examiners from its inception, took over the reins of the Association, as President and Chairman of the Board of Examiners in March 1988.

The association Trains and Recruits new Referees, as its members, and provide services for the supervision of Football matches for both Indian and other Expatriate Tournament Organizers since 1980. The association which provided its services to various other tournament organizers prior to the formation of the Kuwait Indian Football Federation (K.I.F.F.) in 1984, controlled all Expatriates Indians Football activities at the famous expatriate “Al-Sour Ground” at Kuwait City, also provides its services to KIFF to supervise its Four (4) Regular, Five(5) 7-A-Side and One 9-A-Side Non-Regular Tournaments and the J.P. Memorial Rolling Trophy -KIFF League. Also to others since 1998, such as, the tournaments organized by the United Malayalee Organization (a group of 13 Indian Malayalee Associations in Kuwait), Biman Bangladesh Tournament-organized by Biman Bangladesh Airlines-Kuwait and Expatriate League-Organized by Expatriate European/Arabs in Kuwait. Now in its glorious 28th year and still continuing in their love of football and sports, the Indian expatriate community have gained a lot from IFRA and its members.


I.F.R.A. is the only Recognized and Registered Expatriate Qualified Football Referees' body in Kuwait, being Registered with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. The Football Association and The Referees' Association - U.K., who provide/supply with the "Laws of the Game"/Refrees Charts and other necessary referees' accessories. The Bombay Referees' Association, provides the association members with the "Soccer Magazine" and other relevant information of latest changes of the Laws of the Game, etc. The Certificates issued by IFRA to its members are recognized in India, by all State Referees' Associations.

A link to the activities and a brief history on Indian Football Referees' Association (IFRA)-Kuwait can be viewed at
http://www.goa- world.com/ goa/sports/ ifra.htm