Football |19 August 2025

A souvenir photo of the participants, instructors, SFF and referees committee (Photo: Contributed)

Fifa young referees course opens

Following the elite referees last week, it is now the turn of young referees to come together for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) Member Association (MA) Young Referees course, ahead of the start of the new season.

The five-day course opened yesterday at the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) auditorium, under the leadership of Fifa technical instructor Paulo Marques from South Africa and physical instructor Maroua Hannachi from Tunisia.

Thirty young referees aged between 12 and 20 years and coming from Mahé, Praslin and La Digue are attending the course, which is crucial for FIFA member associations, particularly those like Seychelles where there is often a lack of referees for youth competitions.

In his opening remarks Mr Marques, a Fifa technical referee instructor affiliated with the South African Football Association (SAFA), said young referees were a guarantee for the future, ensuring a consistent supply of qualified officials for both the junior and senior games with the ability to fairly apply the Laws of the Game and foster a healthy football environment.

He thanked Fifa, particularly its president Gianni Infantino, for the young referees’ programme as well as Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the Fifa Referees Committee, for this initiative which is crucial for the future of football worldwide.

It was the vice-president of the Seychelles Football Federation, Dolor Ernesta, who officially launched the course. He too highlighted the importance of this programme which he said formed part of Fifa’s bigger picture of ensuring high quality officiating in all competitions be it at local, regional, continental or international levels.

He told the participants that over the next five days they will be provided with the necessary updated skills and knowledge to officiate matches effectively, contributing to the overall quality of the game.

“The knowledge and skills imparted by the two instructors will also provide you with valuable life skills and opportunities for your personal development,” he said.

“This is mainly because refereeing, as we all know, provides young individuals with opportunities to develop leadership skills, decision-making abilities, and communication skills, which are valuable both on and off the field.”

He added that refereeing can also be a great way to stay active, meet new people, and build confidence, while the social and life skills gained through refereeing extend far beyond the football field.

He urged the participants to encourage more of their peers to join refereeing so that there will be an even bigger cohort by the time of the 2026 edition of the Fifa MA young referee’s course.

Also present at yesterday morning’s opening ceremony were SFF officials, members of the referees committee and local instructors.

Contributed