On July 12, the three-day referee course began. FFAS Referee Development Officer Sione Mau and FIFA Instructor Tevita Vea led this course with the help of FFAS local referee instructors Lemusa Alatasi, Tapelu Tapelu, Tete’e Peters, and Chris Taimoavai.
There were 31 participants for this course. 6 senior referees, who are now local instructors, and 25 referees on the beginning stage, eager to move up to the next level.
“Our goal is to increase the number of match officials and to increase the quality of match officials in our MA. FIFA is changing the Laws of the Game every year, and we need to be up to date every year. Our goals for next year is to promote referees to OFC Competitions, but it takes hard work and dedication to get there. A calendar has been set for the next 5 months to help our referees with their preparation: fitness training, theory sessions, Laws of the Game quizzes, match assessments and more. We need to take one step forward and this is our plan to do so.” Mau says.
“You have to be physically and mentally prepared if you want to take refereeing to the next level. Courses like this one can help guide you to be fit in both factors.” Added instructor Alatasi.
Another participant, Kashi Pandeya said, “I really enjoy this course. Thanks to Sione and the team for putting this course together and making sure we understand the law book before we head on out to the start of our national league.”
The course ended on the 13th of July, 2022.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the FFAS Referee Department, you can reach us at 644-7104 and ask for RDO Sione Mau.
