The Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) Referees Department held its inaugural student-referee field training session on Saturday, June 15, at Queen’s College Sports Ground in Georgetown, and seven student-athletes representing various schools participated in the activity.
The training, which took place in the ongoing Blue Water Shipping Under-15 Girls’ National Secondary Schools Championship, saw five girls from President’s College: Alicia Raymond, Beyonce Bennett, Serendi Xavier, Danelle Fredricks and Jenel Bellarmine; along with two boys from Queen’s College: Matthew Persaud and Darren Graham, participating in a refereeing fitness session and drills. All these participants were between the ages of 14 and 16 years old.
A look at the student-referee training hosted by the GFF
This initiative forms a key component of the FIFA FOOTBALL for School (F4S) programme — a collaboration among FIFA, the GFF, and the Ministry of Education.
Participants are all active footballers for their respective schools, but have embraced the referee training programme to enhance their knowledge of the game and skills for the future.
The session was conducted by Lenval Peart, Head of the Referees Department, with assistance from Fitness Instructor Tyrone Tyrrell.
Peart has said he is satisfied with the group’s active participation and their dedication to gaining a broader perspective of the game.
“Our first student-referee programme is off to a great start, even with the rain. The participants showed great enthusiasm. We focused on fitness, and introduced them to match fundamentals. They interacted well and responded positively to instructions,” Peart shared. “I was absolutely pleased to see so many young women showing an interest in the game from the refereeing perspective,” he added.
Beyonce Bennette of President’s College has said she loves football, and found the session enjoyable because it gave her a new perspective on the game. “As a referee, you must always watch the infield,” she cautioned.
Dellon Graham of Queen’s College has said he is always ready to learn new things. “And since I like playing football, why not join the refereeing programme and understand another role of the game?” he asked rhetorically. He added: “At first I thought being a referee was simple, but today I learnt there are some different technicalities.”
The refereeing training initiative is ongoing, and is available to all schools participating in the GFF-Blue Water Shipping Under-15 Girls’ National Secondary Championship.
“The success of the F4S programme requires sustained investment in capacity building across the entire school football ecosystem. We need to develop more referees, match commissioners and venue coordinators within the school system. My hope is that many of these young people will eventually move on to serve the sport at other levels with the knowledge and skills they will acquire from these training programmes. These are important steps as we endeavour to establish the GFF Schools Football Secretariat later this year,” President Forde has remarked.
The tournament, Guyana’s largest girls’ competition, signifies commencement of the implementation phase of the FIFA Football For School (F4S) programme, established in collaboration with FIFA, the GFF, and the Government of Guyana on May 12, 2022.
More than a thousand student-athletes have enrolled in the national competition, which culminated in the finalisation of the Round of 16 on June 2, following matches across nine regions.
The Round of 16 competition would feature Santa Rosa Secondary, Waramuri Primary Top, Westminster Secondary, Queen’s College, New Campbellville Secondary, Bush Lot Secondary, Woodley Park Secondary, Charity Secondary, Tucville Secondary, President’s College and Ann’s Grove Secondary competing at the GFF Providence facility in games set for June 22 and 23.
