The course was held on the futsal court at the Wan Smolbag complex in Port Vila.
Wan Smolbag is an organisation which operates in the areas of education, environment, governance, health and youth. It covers a range of diverse subject areas to create awareness and promote community action and also provides training and materials to schools, communities, NGOs and government departments.
Wan Smolbag sports coordinator John Noel said it was an honour for the organisation to be hosting the 15 referees at their complex.
“Our thanks go to VFF for choosing Wan Smolbag centre to organise these courses because we know we will benefit from this
programme,” Noel said at the opening ceremony.
“I’m also happy that the VFF futsal development department always find ways to enhance the referee programme in Vanuatu. The participants must grab this opportunity to learn and show potential as VFF are here to evaluate them.”
VFF referee instructor Alain Alick says the purpose of a course such as this one is bring uniformity to the way in which matches are officiated.
“We aim to have a uniformed interpretation of the Laws of the Game following FIFA and OFC referees guidance,” Alick says.
“We have been to different FIFA MAs Instructor courses and today we are teaching our referees the right way to officiate a futsal match.
“Also, fitness is a must and we will make sure the referees are fit, mentally and physically, to officiate matches.”
VFF acting CEO George Regenvanu supported Alick’s assessment, saying that refresher courses are an important part of maintaining standards.
“The VFF technical department is constantly evolving and VFF is always trying to improve the contents and approach,” Regenvanu says.
“There has been a lot of effort made by OFC and VFF to improve refereeing in Vanuatu as the aim is to standardise things.
Our ultimate aim is to have good referees in Vanuatu in the future who can officiate top matches in Vanuatu and OFC, it is therefore the duty of the instructors to work together with VFF and other member associations to achieve these aims.
“The course participants are encouraged to improve their understanding of the Laws of the Game and VFF will always be behind them to help them reach their goals.”
For more on Vanuatu football go to www.vanuafoot.vu

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