Former FIFA referee Nurdin Bukuev enters Guinness Book of Records

Bishkek, Sept. 29, 2023. /Kabar/. Kyrgyz ex-FIFA futsal referee Nurdin Bukuev entered the Guinness Book of Records, the Kyrgyz Football Union (KFU) reported.

Bukuev is the absolute world record holder for the number of Futsal World Championships officiated, as well as the first and only referee to achieve this figure. He has four world championships to his name, namely: the World Championships - Brazil 2008, Thailand 2012, Colombia 2016 and Lithuania 2021.

Bukuev's last match as a FIFA referee was the final match of the 2021 Futsal World Cup in Lithuania, where the national teams of Argentina and Portugal met. In that final, the Portuguese team won the trophy and at the award ceremony the refereeing team led by Bukuev received awards from the hands of FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The Kyrgyz specialist began his refereeing career in 1996, in 2006 he became an international referee (FIFA) and refereed many international matches at the national and club levels.

Bukuev was recognized as the best referee in Asia in 2013, as well as the best futsal referee of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2012, 2019 and 2021. After completing his career as a referee, the Asian Football Confederation, in recognition of Bukuev’s merits, awarded him a special AFC award.

After many years of work in the Kyrgyz Football Union, in 2021 Bukuev assumed the position of General Secretary of the KFU and still holds this post. Bukuev was also awarded the state medal “Dank” in 2022 for his services in promoting, supporting and popularizing football and its varieties in the country.

This year, Bukuev also became a member of the AFC Referee Committee, and at the moment he also combines the activities of inspecting matches of international tournaments under the auspices of the AFC.

KFU has already received a letter confirming this record. The certificate will arrive soon and will be officially presented to its owner on November 21 at the home match of the National Football Team of the Kyrgyz Republic against the Oman team, the report said.