REFEREE FITNESS INSTRUCTOR WORKSHOP: Participants of the workshop
GFF COMMENCED REFEREE FITNESS INSTRUCTOR WORKSHOP
21st October, Georgetown: The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) today Saturday 21 commenced a two-day Referee Fitness Instructor Workshop in the GFF boardroom for eight newly selected trainees.
Present at the workshop were GFF President, Wayne Forde, Head of Refereeing Department, Stanley Lancaster, Member Association Fitness Instructor, Lindley Langhorne, and the participants, many of whom are physical education teachers.
Lancaster, while explaining that the goal of the course is to equip each region with a technical and fitness department, said: “The course has been redesigned and we are now implementing the Referee Development Officer (RDO) in all the areas. That person will be responsible for the technical training of referees from beginners all the way up to FIFA. We have to match the technical with the fitness aspect of the sport. Therefore, with the large recruitment drive coming up, we have to start teaching the teachers. This coming week we will identify one person who will become the Fitness instructor for their location. Each area will have a RDO, who is the technical instructor, working along with the Fitness Instructor to teach the referees.”
Langhorne, who recently attended a FIFA’s Futuro III global training course for referee instructors in September 2017 in Montego Bay Jamaica, is conducting the workshop to filter his knowledge locally.
In brief remarks, Forde said: “The GFF is committed to the continued development of its match officials. This fitness programme is just one component of that overall capacity building agenda. Each programme that we do is part of our continued investment in building the capacity of the refereeing fraternity so that the delivery of service to the wider football community can improve over time. We are proud of the involvement and attendance by our referees and we wish them every success as they continue to take specific steps to aid in their own development.”