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Nearly 30 new Somali soccer referees end training course

Storyline:Sports

referees

Somali football federation (SFF) has awarded certificates to a total of 27 newly-trained referees who have successfully completed a 6 month-long training course, as part of the new CAF programming referees initiative.

The course ran from January to June 2014, but the new referees had under gone their examinations this week and were provided with their certificates at ceremony which attracted top officials including the SFF president Ali Said Guled, his deputy Ali Abdi Mohamed and secretary General Abdi Qani
Said Arab.

Somali Football Federation education officer Ali Mohamed Ahmed who addressed at the closing ceremony outlined the importance of the New CAF Programming Referees initiative which he said was part of CAF’s efforts to increase the quality and quantity of African soccer referees.

He said that according to the New CAF Programming Referees initiative the continental football governing body wants that every member nation implements the below mentioned schedules:

1.    To register and train young referees between 18-23 years of age.

2.    To select educated young people from high schools and universities.

3.    To teach them about the laws of the game and prepare them as future
referees.

4.    To divide them into different categories such as.

A)   New Programming Referees.

B)   Third Division Referees

C)   Second Division Referees

D)   First Division (National) Referees

E)   Candidates for FIFA Referees

F)   FIFA Referees

G)   Young talent (Below 30 years of age)

H)   Elite Referees

“After we complete this program we will then be able to prepare the referees to be candidates for world cup matches and I am hopeful we will realize such target in the years to come” SFF education officer Ali Mohamed Ahmed told the closing ceremony before he flew to Cameroon where he will conduct a course for Africa’s New FIFA referees.

The course was conducted by some of the country’s top referee instructors including: Abdi Abdulle Ahmed, Aweys Ahmed Jimale, Abdirahman Abdi Omar (Shurie), Dr. Hassan Mohamed Mahmoud (Farey), CAF instructor Ali Mohamed Ahmed and Osman Abdi Osman.