LOCAL umpire Epeli Tukuca has been named as one of the neutral umpires at the IHF (International Hockey Federation) World League Round 2 in India next month.
Fiji Hockey Federation president Dr Robin Mitchell said the appointment was good news for the sport in the country.
He said this opportunity could open doors for other umpires to officiate at international tournaments.
"This is the first time one of our umpires has been chosen to officiate at such a huge event and this bodes well for the sport," Dr Mitchell said.
"For us it is a pathway to try and learn more from other umpires and that knowledge can be used to help us in our development," he said. Tukuca has been officiating at the Oceania Pacific Cup in Fiji for the past five years.
"It's about time one of our umpires goes to an international event and we wish Epeli the very best in his trip. This can be an incentive for other local umpires to do better and for other interested individuals to take up officiating if they want to retire from the sport or just want to become umpires," he said.