Futsal referees from across Guyana are the target of a five-day workshop, which began on Wednesday morning in Georgetown. The sessions are being facilitated by football’s world governing body, FIFA, through affiliate, the Guyana Football Federation.
The workshop, which is being held at the National Resource Centre, Woolford Avenue, is being conducted by FIFA Instructor, Shane Butler. It caters for 17 match officials from Berbice, Linden, Georgetown, West Demerara and Essequibo.
According to Butler, the workshop is aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge of the different laws of Futsal and better their understanding and interpretation of same.
Video clips would be reviewed to make the process a lot easier, Butler indicated.
“The technique we’ll be using is explaining a clip as far as the severity of a foul, the levels and how they can decide between a careless foul, a simple foul or a reckless foul. Also, we’re going to interpretations that are different from the outdoor game- signaling, mechanics- and field sessions, just to make the referees much better,” Butler explained.
GFF president Wayne Forde urged the participants to make the most of the opportunities being afforded to them over the next five days.
“To keep apace of the demands of the fans and the ensure there’s consistency in the delivery of quality on the field of play, it’s necessary that we make the investment that we’re making here today in the capacity of our referees,” Forde said.
The GFF head added that the referees can look forward to showcasing their new-found knowledge when the Federation stages the eight-team International Futsal Festival from December 27-30.
“I want to ask you to bring an open mind (to the workshop), be as engaging as possible and try to walk away with as much information as possible from the programme. So good luck and make the best of it,” Forde stressed.
The workshop comes at a time when Futsal is one of the fastest growing form of football in Guyana.
The programme will be held daily from 10:00h–17:00h at the Resource Centre, with the practical sessions scheduled for 15:00h–16:30h on Friday and Saturday at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
