Held at Bruce Pulman Park in Papakura, the course brings together 43 of the country’s national league officials and instructors to upskill on the latest trends and developments in refereeing led by FIFA instructor Steve Bennett and Oceania Football Head of Refereeing Mark Hester.
Bennett, a former FIFA referee who officiated in the English Premier League for 13 years, said the course is important for the referees involved but also the instructors who can help spread the knowledge learned around the country.
“The FIFA courses we have are rolled out in all of the confederations in exactly the same way,” Bennett said.
“We need to bring up the level of refereeing around the world and to do that first of all we need to improve the level of instructors. That’s why we have the instructors’ course and many of the instructors here have been to those courses to learn new skills and understand the new teaching materials.
“The philosophy is to teach the teachers so the instructors come back to the member associations and pass that information down to the referees. It’s a snowball effect that just carries on down and the same information is being put around all the countries in the world.”
Bennett says the recent success of New Zealand officials on the global stage – such as Anna-Marie Keighley and Sarah Walker taking charge of a FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final earlier this year – is just reward for a strong pathway in place.
“We’ve seen a lot of referees, ladies and men, having good success in tournaments and that’s good because they are getting the same messages.
“Everything is going along very nicely here at the moment. There is no doubt that the enthusiasm and the passion here is clear and there is a clear structure in New Zealand which is well-organised and elite officials come from that.”
Speaking from direct experience, Bennett said the recent confirmation of SKY Sport live coverage for the coming ASB Premiership will help New Zealand officials better prepare for the big FIFA events and competition at the highest level.
“There’s going to be a higher profile of the sport so there’s going to be more pressure on the referees to deal with these things but that’s what they are having to deal with in the competitions when they go around world,” Bennett said.
“Dealing with pressure is a huge thing but you also need an understanding of the trends in the game and have a tactical awareness of how the teams play.
“All teams now have dossiers on referees. They all know how many penalty kicks referees have given, how many red and yellow cards they issue per match so they know which type of character they’re dealing with.
“Referees have got to do the same with the teams. They must know how teams play, how they set up and their tactical approach so they are ready for all the demands that are being placed on them now.
“Referees have got to be alert to all these things now and react accordingly to ensure the integrity of the game and fair play is going to continue.”
One of the candidates on the course, New Zealand FIFA level referee Nick Waldron says the next few days will serve as ideal preparation for what is a busy end to his 2015 year.
“The course is a fabulous opportunity to get all the top referees together from around New Zealand and spend four days in a living and breathing football environment,” Waldron said.
“Getting assessors and instructors in like Steve Bennett and Mark Hester – they really bring a FIFA aspect to it and get us up to that level and get us consistent on what the new interpretations are so it’s fantastic to have them here.”
Waldron, who – along with New Zealand assistant referee Glen Lochrie and Fiji’s Ravinesh Kumar – will officiate at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile in October, echoed Bennett’s thoughts on the ASB Premiership television coverage and is eager to use the broadcast of domestic games as a learning tool.
“It’s excellent to have the national competition on TV. It’s exactly what I think the game needs. It’s an element of extra pressure to our refereeing but it also gives us an opportunity to use the examples for coaching and development and that’s exactly what we need so it’s a fantastic outcome for New Zealand Football.”
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football

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