The CDSRA would like to extend its warmest congratulations to its member, Sangmuk Choi, on his promotion to the Canada Soccer National List of Assistant Referees.

Sangmuk began his refereeing journey in 2012 at the age of 20. Initially, he took the entry-level course to earn a few extra bucks, but his love for the game and the art of officiating grew as he gained more experience. He obtained his regional badge in 2016 and his provincial badge in 2020. Sangmuk was then invited to join the Canada Soccer NextGen program in 2021 - a program designed to be a pathway for officials looking to join the National List of Officials with the opportunity to be assigned to CSA domestic competitions.

Accordingly, Sangmuk officiated his first Canadian Premier League (CPL) game on August 7, 2021, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, between Halifax Wanderers and York United (pictured below)

Sangmuk's passion and dedication have led him to many memorable moments throughout his refereeing career. Some of his highlights include officiating U10 at the IberCup 2017 in Cascais, Portugal, his first season in AUS (U Sports) in 2019 in Wolfville, NS, his first U Sports men's Nationals 2021 in Ottawa, NS, and his first game in Alberta (UWS) as a CDRSA member in 2022 in Calgary, AB. He has officiated in 13 CPL games to-date including 9 games in the past CPL season which also saw him appointed to the gold-medal game at USport Men's Nationals in Kamloops, BC this past November.

Sangmuk recognizes the role his assessors, instructors, coaches, and colleagues have had on his journey saying: “I appreciate every assessor/instructor/coach that I work or worked with at different stages of my development. But I must say the refereeing program in Atlantic Canada led by James Keast (National Assessor), Carman King (Chair of CSA Refereeing Committee) and other academy coaches/colleagues were a big part of my development until my move to Alberta in 2022. There are way too many to name and every one of them contributed in some way to my development as an official and a human being”.

Sangmuk is looking forward to continuing his development in Alberta through the CDSRA and is looking forward to playing a leadership role in helping inspire the next CDSRA member to join the national list of officials.

The CDSRA is proud of Sangmuk's impressive accomplishments, and we cannot wait to witness what he will achieve next in his career. Congratulations, Sangmuk, on your well-deserved success!