Kiwi ref finally gets his cup ticket

Referee Matt Conger has been waiting for a ticket to the football World Cup for years.

And now the Kiwi whistleblower has finally had it confirmed - he’’ll be going to the world cup in Russia next year.

The Palmerston North man was given the word a week ago that he was on the list of the last 36 and one of two Oceania officials. The other is Norbert Hauata of Tahiti.

The United States-born Conger went to the Rio Olympics last year and two under-20 World Cups, in New Zealand in 2015 and in South Korea earlier this year, but the senior world cup has always been his dream.

‘‘I started refereeing when I was 15,’’ Conger said. ‘‘It’s pushing 20 odd years.

‘‘I’ve been in New Zealand for, pushing 14 years. It’s certainly has been a long journey, but as they say now the hard work really starts.

‘‘It’s about making sure we prove everything to the absolute maximum, that we can be prepared going into next summer.’’

The whole squad of 36 was in Abu Dhabi this week at a Fifa Conference where they would find out their exact roles, whether they will be an official referee or a support referee.

‘‘I’m going to the world cup, which is fantastic, but to see my name on the list to be a ref, not a support ref, is the next step. It seems like a little step.’’

Conger said he was confident he and his referee team, which consists of assistant referees Tevita Makasini of Tonga and Kiwi Simon Lount, would be in a good position to be selected.

‘‘Our appointment to the club world cup on December 6 is a good indication we’re in that pole position for coming up from OFC,’’ Conger said.

He said they had been through a good run of form and are experienced.

Because the All Whites didn’t qualify for the world cup, Conger said all the pool games are wide open for a New Zealand refereeing team to do.

Appointments aren’t done until the tournament starts, but Conger said they’re not going just to make up the numbers.

‘‘Three or four [games] and we’ll be on the moon.’’

Conger, an A-League and national league official, was earlier this month named the New Zealand referee of the year

Conger left his fulltime teaching job last year so he could concentrate more on his refereeing, but he is working part time at Palmerston North’s Carncot School.

There were three New Zealand officials at the 2014 world cup in Brazil in referee Peter O’Leary and assistant referees Jan-Hendrik Hintz and Mark Rule.