A one week FIFA coordinated course for Referees, commenced in Nevis on Monday, June 19, 2017 with a brief but impressive opening ceremony taking place at the conference room of the Youth and Sports Department, located at the Reliable Motors Complex.
Chairperson of the proceedings, Christopher Ekay, admonished the referees in training to be true to their calling and to be consistent.
‘Referees don’t have friends,’ he stated. He also asked them to aspire to be like Kimbell Ward, one of the top FIFA referees in the region and who hails from Nevis.
The invocation was delivered by Jamie Richards, one of the participants and then remarks were made by Mr. Lenny Lake, Technical Director of the SKNFA.
He took time out to impress on his hearers, the significance of the various stakeholders who make the wonderful game of Football what it is.
‘It is not about the President dressed up in jacket and tie and the adoring fans, but it all starts with a little boy or girl who is willing to kick a Football,’ he said. He also mentioned the significance of the referees, who seek to order the game and guide it with the application of the rules which are constantly changing to ensure fair play and safety of the players. He mentioned the importance of the Coaches and the administrators of the game as well.
He appealed to the participants to make the most of the training course and also alluded to the importance of Kimbell Ward’s ascension to being among the top 15 referees in CONCACAF and urged the participants to take a leaf out of his book.
He also opined that ‘one day we will have an influx of Nevisians dominating Football’ and pledged his continued commitment to see the game grow and develop in Nevis.
Main Facilitator of the course, Malcolm Ramsey, who is an established referees’ instructor and FIFA referees’ assessor, implored the participants to take the course of training seriously. He pointed out that the course will involve theoretical and practical work and even some intense sessions, with trainer for the referees, Masefield Nisbett, to ensure that they are up to the acceptable fitness levels, which he noted was key to the success of persons becoming top referees.
‘The passport is the laws of the game but the visa is the fitness,’ stated Ramsey.
He noted that the participants will have to do written tests and the results and reports will be sent to FIFA and certificates will be issued on Friday 23rd June, when the course concludes, to those participants who successfully complete the course.
He beseeched them to learn well and ask questions and make the best of the opportunity provided through FIFA.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, the participants got involved with the business at hand, as Mr. Ramsey commenced with one of the sessions.