The 30-year-old has been joined by three other Kiwis – fellow match officials Chris Wolken and Gareth Sheehan as well as referee coach Neil Fox – in representing Oceania at the eight-day workshop.
The gathering is taking place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon and includes fitness testing, match simulations, video analysis and lectures. The trio will also get the opportunity to referee in local matches in the Swiss and nearby French competitions.
Auckland Football referee development officer Paul Smith says the course represents a wonderful opportunity for Waldron and co to fine tune a variety of different aspects of their craft in a programme which has produced 60 FIFA level officials.
“They will be immersed in the highest of high performance environments for eight days and they’ll finish the course knowing exactly what it takes to referee the game at elite level,” Smith says.
“That knowledge will be invaluable to both themselves and others when they return to New Zealand to continue their development towards FIFA level status.”
All four New Zealand officials will return to Nyon in March for the second section of the course.
Waldron, Wolken and Sheehan have been working regularly as a trio domestically in both the Lotto NRFL and Lotto Men’s Central League competitions in 2012.
Auckland resident Waldron was involved in his first O-League game as a fourth official in 2010 and has gone on to referee matches in the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.

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