ISSUE 24 IN THIS ISSUE - The Football Association

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CONMEBOLTAKING REFEREEING TO ANEW LEVEL IN COLOMBIASelect Group Referee Chris Foy, LancashireFA Referee Development Officer and NationalList Assistant Referee Dean Mohareb and FARegional Manager Ray Olivier were invited byThe Football Association to deliver a four-dayworkshop in Colombia for 84 elite refereesduring January.The FA’s International Relations representativeLucia Sanchez accompanied the delegation, onwhat was the first referee training course in thecountry. Sanchez was delighted with the feedbackfrom the delegates.“It was a great experience, the Colombianreferees really enjoyed and learned a lot from theworkshops,” she said.“All of the feedback has been extremelypositive, with many complimentary comments.”Mr Luis Bedoya, President of the ColombianFederation, also attended the opening ceremonyand spoke about the support and faith that theorganisation had in its match officials.The workshops were delivered with amixture of theory and outdoor practical fitnesssessions and all of the officials were involved andenthusiastic throughout. Topics such as ‘stepstowards excellence,’ ‘where we are now,’ ‘offside,’‘teamwork,’ ‘player management’ and ‘getting thebig decisions right,’ were all delivered by Ray, Deanand Chris.Practical fitness sessions also took place everyafternoon. Specific high-intensity, speed and agilityand low-intensity (recovery) training sessionswere introduced each day and the delegates alsotried the new ‘Yo-Yo Assessment’, which hasbeen introduced in England this season to assessreferees’ stamina, agility and anaerobic capacity.Despite the high temperature and difficult grasssurface, the results were extremely impressive.There were many people in attendance duringthe four days. The media were present throughoutand coverage in the local and national newspapers,radio and television was constant. The Presidentof the Colombian Federation, the President of theReferees Commission, the General Secretary of theFederation and a FIFA Observer were amongst thedignitaries in attendance.The course was extremely well received by theColombian Federation, the elite officials and FIFA,whose observer Amelio Andino was particularlyimpressed with how it all went.“For me, the technical and physical workthe English instructors have delivered has beenunbelievable,” he said. “All of the officialsSelect Group Referee Chris Foy puts prospectivenew referees through their paces in Colombia.and instructors have been impressed with theprofessional work undertaken. They have learnedand I have learned.”Elite referee Oscar Ruiz, who has been aFIFA Referee since 1995 and represented hiscountry at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, spokevery highly of the workshop and the instructorswho delivered it.“The international instructors have taught memany things this week,” he said. “I have learnedand developed and I will improve more, so that Iam a better referee. They must come back, as thecourse was not long enough for me.”During the week, working with elite officialswho have many different pressures and differentinterpretations of some aspects of the Law, was areal experience.“I have not only developed as a tutor but alsoas a match official during the week. The seminarswere interactive, thought-provoking and beneficialto the tutors and the delegates. I hope that thework we have done can help the ColombianFederation and their match officials move forwardin the coming season.”The theme of the workshop was ‘deliveringexcellence’ and it appears that all of the elitereferees, instructors, members of the RefereesCommission and match inspectors have taken onboard the theme in their pursuit of improvement.ALL THEFEEDBACKHAS BEENEXTREMELYPOSITIVE
…AND ECUADORBENEFITS TOOTHIS WASTHE FA’SFIFTH VISITTOECUADORFollowing the successful Colombian trip,another Advanced Referees Workshop washeld in Ecuador.Ray Olivier and Steve Swallow, both FARegional Referees Managers, delivered a weeklongworkshop to almost 150 officials.The workshop was divided into two parts: thefirst a three-day course for elite referees and thelatter a two-day Match Inspectors course.In total, a mixture of assistant referees,instructors, physical trainers and match inspectorstook part in the classroom and pitch-basedsessions.Ray Olivier, who led the course, was returningto Ecuador for the fifth time to deliver a Referees’Course said: “It is a tremendous honour to beinvited back again to address both the refereesand the match inspectors.“Exactly three years ago, the FederaciónEcuatoriana de Fútbol (FEF) were appointing‘foreign’ referees from neighbouring countries toofficiate in some of their top matches.“Since then, following the development andimprovement of their match officials, FEF nowonly appoints Ecuadorian referees to officiate in alltheir internal competitions.“This is clear recognition that the training anddevelopment that The FA has delivered over thepast five years has helped to secure this significantmilestone”.Steve Swallow added, “It was a greatopportunity to be a part of this importantprogramme. All the course participants took fullpart in both the theory and physical training withgreat enthusiasm”.The FA is due to visit other countries withinCONMEBOL another three times this year as partof the Memorandum of Understanding betweenThe FA and CONMEBOL, signed in 2002.COMMUNIQUE ISSUE 247
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 24IN THIS ISSUESHIRTS TOKENYA
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