Course for referees from FIFA member associations ends in Abuja

A five-day comprehensive training programme for Nigerian intermediate referees will come to an end with a closing ceremony scheduled for the NFF/FIFA Goal Project, at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on Friday.

Classroom sessions for the 40 participants have included group discussions on penalty area incidents, tactical fouls, recovery strategy, offside, handball and the challenges faced by whistle-men.

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The course started on Monday with a fitness test for all referees, followed by a clarification of the course objectives and a video presentation on modern refereeing.

There have also been on-field sessions with players and mini-matches with players, all to prepare intermediate referees for the next step up the ladder to the elite level.

The final session on practical training will take place on Friday morning, as well as a presentation on the new match preparation concept, before the closing ceremony begins at 2.30 p.m.

The overall objectives of the course include identifying, harnessing and nurturing the inherent arbitral potential of the participants, instituting a sustainable development trend through the Young Talent Programme, establishing a corps of talented young arbitrators for national and international arbitration programmes and ensuring the continued growth and development of arbitration in Nigeria.

The programme has been supervised by two FIFA instructors: former FIFA referee Felix Tangawarima from Zimbabwe (FIFA Senior Technical Instructor and COSAFA VAR Project Manager) and Mark Mzengo from Malawi (FIFA Fitness Instructor).

Another five-day course, this time for Nigeria’s elite referees, will kick off on Sunday 7 July at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

The main objective of this course, which will also involve 40 participants, is to generally improve the status of Nigeria’s leading referees.

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