For the duo, being given the chance to join the Elites is both an opportunity not to be wasted and a trust given to them by their football friends back home, nations and the AFC.

The 38-year-old Serazitdinov and Leow, 30, were two of the 10 Asian referees chosen to undergo the AFC New Elite Men Referees Course on 7-9 December 2010 during the AFC Elite Education Seminar 2011 held here in the capital of Malaysia.

Serazitdinov was an assistant referee from 2002 to 2008 and has become a full referee in the Central Asian country this year having officiated in about 16 to 17 matches this season in the Uzbek League.

“I’m very happy to join the course. This is a very good experience for me that I will definitely share with my friends back in Uzbekistan. I must take this chance to succeed as an elite referee,” he said.

Serazitdinov who started trying his hand with the whistle in 1988 is proud of his friend three-time AFC Referee of the Year Ravshan Irmatov, whom he had worked with during an AFC Champions League season.

“Now I know how it feels to be elite. It’s not easy but if Ravshan can do it, I should try it too,” he said.

Leow had to compete with a fellow Singaporean referee, who at 21 years old was much younger than him, to be nominated to join the AFC’s elite course.

“I was so happy to have beat him and join this course. My friend is much younger but I guess I’m more mature and at 30, I am still physically fit,” he said.

Having failed in many trial selections to be a player in the island nation, Leow decided to become a referee because he loved the game too much.

“I became a referee because I wasn’t given a chance as a player. I attended many selections and in 2004, I said enough is enough and began to eye the whistle. This game is in my blood.

"This elite course I'm attending is both a chance and a trust put upon me,” said Leow who dreams to officiate in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.