–with fresh new faces on local refereeing scene

GIVEN the fact that football presently suffers due to the unavailability of proper playing facilities in Linden, considering there are other factors are hampering the game from being played there, one must admit that there is a shortage of officials.
And this was borne out recently when an attempt was made to start a Senior League competition about one month ago, and the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) was advised to bring officials from Georgetown to ensure that the matches were played.

So, one must commend the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)’s National Referees Committee, which conducted a three-day Beginners Course, from September 1-3, at the Mackenzie High School, in Linden, where, initially, 19 persons were in attendance, including some schoolteachers.

And there must be a sense of satisfaction that the drive for new and young officials was taken up by young persons.
Head of the Refereeing Body in the Upper Demerara region, former FIFA Assistant Referee Abdulla Hamid reminded his audience at the opening of the course that it was in 2013 when a previous GFF Beginners’ Course was held in Linden, where among those who participated was current Mackenzie High School teacher, current FIFA Referee Shavin Green, who got his FIFA Licence earlier this year.

From 2013, Green has attended several other courses, including the elite Referees Course known as the Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP), which was conducted by FIFA officials in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RAP Courses were done Online in 2020 and 2021, but Greene was given international appointments, and could not attend those RAP courses. He is, however, due to attend another RAP Course next month.

Prior to that 2013 introductory course, another Beginners Course was held in Linden at the Mackenzie Sports Club in 2009, where those who attended included Ms. Maureese Skeete, who topped it, and went on to become a FIFA Referee.
As Hamid noted: “We had about 20 to 25 referees in Linden, but because of jobs and people migrating, the availability of referees was depleted. So, we have to rebuild, and this programme right now will see the development of referees in and around Linden, so they can serve the football community well.

“We want to encourage other females and youngsters between the ages 16 and 25 years to be part if this exercise. You can contact me, and I would get you into refereeing. And once we get a high number, we can seek for another Beginners’ Course in Linden.”
Presently, Shavin Green and Denisha Isaacs are the two recognised FIFA officials, while another young promising female, Kenesha Prescott, is recognised nationally, and this year officiated at the FIFA Challenge Under 14 tournament in Antigua, where, by all accounts, she performed creditably.

Looking back at the recent course, Hamid, the Upper Demerara Referees’ lead official, said: “The GFF had launched a programme to develop referees around the country, so we started in New Amsterdam in June, and then shifted to Linden.
The Linden introductory course was a pretty well-organised course; it was good. We saw 19 participants attending, and this was through the drive of developing young male and female referees to be part of refereeing to develop the game, especially in Linden and around Guyana.

“This 2023 Beginners’ Course was pretty much an eyeopener, because there is a shortage of referees in Linden and the rest of Guyana, because a lot of the referees here in Guyana are aging, and FIFA, CONCACAF and CFU are looking for younger referees, and putting them at the international standards.” (Joe Chapman)