Maltock made the comments during the opening ceremony of the course being held in Vanuatu for elite referees, referee assessors and physical fitness instructors.
Maltock, chairman of the VFF Referee Committee and a member of both the OFC and FIFA Referee Committees, says Vanuatu has plenty of referees but only the best can make the step up to international level.
“We want more quality referees not quantity,” he says.
“I urge you to wake up and do your best to follow the example set by our former FIFA Assistant Referee Lencie Fred, who is now the VFF referee development officer, and Harry Atisson who is also a former FIFA referee and now works for VFF media.
“During our FIFA Referee Committee meeting in Zurich, the commitee asked each Member Association to reduce the number of referees and focus on top elite referees in each country.”
Maltock says this directive means VFF will be making moves to reduce the number of referees it nominates for the FIFA Referee List in 2015 in a bid to have the best representing the nation on the international stage.
“We want to see referees who have the FIFA badge being the top referees who can officiate matches in OFC competitions and not just acting as fourth official all the time.
“It is very important to take this course seriously adn I will ask for all your reports from our RDO after this course.”
The FIFA Refereeing Course is being held from 3-7 August in Vanuatu, led by FIFA Fitness Instructor Mark Hester.
For more on Vanuatu football go to www.vanuafoot.vu

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