FIFA Referee Development Officer Javier Santos commends 26 RAP graduates for showing unwavering commitment throughout intense training programme

Oct 27, 2023 Sports

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Kaieteur Sports – FIFA Referee Development Officer Javier Santos on Monday said he was pleased with the committed and active involvement demonstrated by the 26 graduates of the FIFA Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) which was held between October 19 and 23 in Georgetown.

The group, including a FIFA referee, FIFA assistant referees and assistant referees, received their certificates during a simple October 23 ceremony at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Plantation Lilliendaal in Georgetown.

Santos congratulated the group, including seven women, and acknowledged the remarkable progress of the local referee programme since his first visit in 2019.

“I am very happy with the participation of this group. Since our first visit in 2019 we have seen many new faces and more people interested to be a part of the refereeing family. It’s nice to see women here, more women. All of them (are) very committed.”

He also commended the GFF Refereeing Department for, “keeping the instructors updated so we have seen a big change.”

The five-day theoretical and practical internationally-recognised training programme was led by Santos, FIFA referee instructors Rohan Thobourne, Dianne Ferreira-James, Shane Butler and Concacaf Referee Manager Dave Miekle.

The graduates hailed from Berbice, Linden, Georgetown, and Kamarang. Since its inception in 2008, RAP has played a pivotal role in improving the standard of refereeing in the region by providing education and support.

GFF President Wayne Forde in his congratulatory message stressed that the growth of the game relies on the continuous improvement and training of referees, and that workshops such as RAP complement the efforts of our local referee instructors.

“The energy throughout the past couple of days has been pretty positive. The game cannot grow without the referees’ growing. The referees are the one that have a positive and direct impact on how the game is played, on how the game is managed, the quality of the game so the Federation is really happy to work with FIFA to organise these programmes annually which complements the work that is being done by our local referee instructors.”

FIFA referee instructor Ferreira-James shared that she was pleased to see seven enthusiastic female participants who exhibited an overwhelming desire to enhance their skills and ascend to higher levels in officiating.

“We saw so much potential. What is exciting for us is the fact that we have seen seven females at this course. I’ve been to many other courses where we probably only have one to zero, other courses we might find one or two, three maybe but in this course we have seven, and not just seven ladies, but seven ladies who have great potential. They’re young, they’re energetic, they’re very intelligent.”

“We saw so much passion from the ladies. They want to improve themselves and want to get to the next level.”

She also urged the graduating group to “continue what we’ve started here…continue to be committed, continue to be dedicated.”

Referees were assessed on game knowledge and received training on the interpretation and application of football laws.

Instructors used the FIFA Referee Education and Development (RED) platform to enhance the learning experience for participants. RED was launched in December 2019 with the aim of providing a comprehensive online learning ecosystem for referees worldwide.

FIFA Referee Shavin Greene who recently officiated the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup said the “course was a very informative course. We learnt a lot throughout the couple days, more on fitness, more on the new law changes that FIFA would have put out. It’s always good to stay updated with those changes.”

“The technical sessions that we had on the field were also very excellent. We were able to work on our craft because this is what we do, creating angles, making the correct decisions. It was a pretty good course overall,” he added.

Assistant referee Alliyah Antigua said the workshop “was really a great experience” and promised to keep “training, practice to get better, to go higher in this and not just settle.”

Safiya Goulding, who also graduated as an assistant referee, shared that she made changes in her life “because I actually saw the benefit in refereeing. It was a good programme.”

The graduating class thanked the visiting officials for sharing their knowledge, and the GFF, especially Refereeing Project Officer Lenval Peart, for organising the workshop.

Graduates were FIFA referee Shavin Greene; FIFA assistant referees Kleon Lindey, Denisha Isaacs, Clenton Daniel; referees Colin Abel, Gladwyn Johnson, Colin Bowry, Micah Erskine, Kenisha Prescott, Dwayne McKinnon, and assistant referees Brandon Cyrus, Mitera Thomas, Patrick December, Eion Rodney, Otis Williams, Anthony Adams, Aquiba Reynolds, Orwin Corlette, Ebonie McNeil, Leon Perreira, Sherwin Alli, Miksha Crossman, Safiya Goulding and Alliyah Antigua.

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• FIFA Referee Development Officer, Georgetown, Graduates, Javier Santos

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