The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) concluded its annual FIFA member association refereeing course Friday at the National Training Centre, with 17 match officials receiving certificates of participation in what was the entity’s first personal developmental programme since 2019.
According to a release from the federation, the forum was conducted from August 23rd-27th by FIFA Referee Development Officer Javier Santos, FIFA Referee Instructor Peter Prendergast and FIFA Fitness Instructor Alan Brown, as well as local Instructors Ingram Johnson and Sherwin Moore.
The participants were updated on the recent modifications to the Laws of the Game.
GFF President Wayne Forde said, “I’ve received only positive feedback from our Head of Refereeing Dion Inniss about your performance this week. We are extremely proud of the dedication of this group of match officials, which is now well equipped to ensure the return to competitions will be well managed on the field of play.”
Forde urged the football fraternity in particular the regional member associations, to encourage and foster the improved participation of women within the officiating sector, as only three females including FIFA Referee Maurees Skeete participated in the forum.
He explained, “We have so much planned for women’s football in the coming months and years, and we really want to see more female referees as part of that evolution. I would like to personally encourage more women to join us on this journey as we develop football for all.”
Meanwhile, Inniss, who also serves on the GFF Executive Committee, said, “Many times after these courses, you are highly motivated and at your peak, and then after a few weeks and months later, you can get demotivated and be back to where you were, my hope is that – this time around – that is not the case.
“The FIFA course is the second refereeing programme that the GFF has organised for its match officials this month, following a three-day seminar by Guyanese-born Dianne Ferreira-James, a Concacaf Elite Assessor and Head of Refereeing for the Bahamas Football Association”, the release stated.
