Becoming a referee is not an easy task. It requires patience, lots of hard work and dedication and who knows, one day you might be just like the best referee in Africa, our very own Gambian Bakary Papa Gassama. Papa will be the first to tell you that his journey has been difficult and required lots of hard work but he is also a shining example of how to become the very best.
Refereeing is a great way to be involved in football. There are opportunities for everyone, whether you only want to referee at local level or progress to the international stage. It gives you the opportunity to remain active in the game following injury or retirement, to make new and lasting friends within the game and to play a huge role in ensuring the players enjoy their match day experience.
The movement and pace of football is high and intense and when you add this to the daily media scrutiny, the improvement in video technology, means that referees need to be elite athletes. They also need to have the mental capacity, anticipation skills, confidence, maturity and authority to make split-second decisions. The GFF is taking great care in ensuring that our elite referees are trained to be the very best they can be, so that the great history we have in producing world-class referees continues.
The GFF holds training of referees throughout the year and wants to ensure that more are groomed to eventually emerge to the international stage.
For more information on how to get on to the refereeing ladder, please visit our Referee’s Manager at GFF Football House.
