The third and final stage of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Referees Assistant Programme got underway yesterday at the Demerara Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Company building on Rob Street.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, officially declared the programme open in the presence of several FIFA, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) officials and Guyana Football Referee Council (GFRC) members.
“It is a always great to gain knowledge because it’s the way forward and I’m sure that after you have had your success in this programme you will be able to teach what you know to help develop your association in the future,” Dr. Anthony told the participants.
The programme will be conducted by FIFA instructors, Peter Prendergast and Merere Louis Gonzales along with Development officer of CONCACAF Ramesh Ramdhan.
Prendergast and Ramdhan were of the opinion that utilizing all three stages of the programme to better help develop the most important part of the sport which is the human resources was a good move by the GFF.
“We are woefully short of referees in the region and it is up to you at the end of the day and at the end of the training you receive, if you want to be an international referee or if you will be satisfied with being a ‘bush ref’,” Ramdan said. “This RAP programme is to better acquaint you referees with the laws and rules of the sport so that it can be applied correctly to not only the older and senior players but also the youths so as to create order consistently to eliminate low standards in he game,” he added.
The programme which ends on Saturday has attracted 30 participants eight of whom are female.
Participants will engage in theoretical and practical exercises at the Eve Leary Sports Complex and Guyana Defence Force Grounds.
FIFA has conducted numerous progammes in Guyana which include Futsal, Beach Football, Youth and Officiating and a club management programme is also scheduled to be held here at a later date.
