The #CAF Zone West A (WAFU-A) is hosting a weeklong (05-10 May 2024) Women’s Referees Training seminar in #Banjul, The #Gambia as the zonal union equips match officials from Member Associations.
The Women’s Referees seminar is the first event hosted in the Gambian capital since the WAFU-A Secretariat returned to the Smiling Coast of Africa.
The list consists of 18 Match Officials selected from the 9 Member Associations of the Zonal Union as well as the CAF Head of Refereeing and Football Technology Désiré Noumandiez DOUÉ and a highly experienced Technical & Physical Instructors to ensure that all officials are in the best shape ahead of the upcoming competitions.
Part of the workshop will include, but not be limited to physical, theoretical and technical tests while also ensuring that all officials are fully up to speed with the Laws of the Game and other key refereeing matters.
In welcomng the particants to the home of WAFU-A, the Executive Director of the zone, Mr Mapathe Gaye, said that the aim of the workshop was to equip female referees ahead the forthcoming WAFU-A and CAF competitions.
Gaye, who’s a former referee urged the trainees to be more concentrated, but above all to take advantage of the presence of the Director of CAF’s Refereeing Department, Mr Désiré Noumandiez DOUÉ, who is one of the instructors at this session.
The seminar is already counted as a success with the presence of the Director of the Refereeing Departmant of CAF, Désiré Noumandiez DOUÉ who will be taking the particants in key areas of Refereeing.
“I would like to thank the WAFU-A zone for organising this seminar,” said Désiré Noumandiez DOUÉ CAF Head of Refereeing and Football Technology
“For us as CAF refereeing department it is a very important moment as we discussed last week, the zones are the key points of our refereeing development strategy, that’s why we try to manage our timetable to be here to conduct this course. We want to encourage and we want to really work closely with the zones.”
Noumandiez Desire Doue who officiated at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2011 CAF Champions League final second league between winners Esperance Sportive de Tunis and Wydad Athletic Club in Rades challenged the referees to grab the opportunity given to them.
“You are given a very big opportunity not just to learn but to also show your qualities and you’re lucky because you will spend one week with the head of refereeing of CAF so you will not find a better person to see and to take note of what you’re able to do,” the Ivorian said.
“You have to grab this opportunity. It’s not coming every day and it would not come two or three times and life is a matter of opportunity so grab it to show your qualities. It’s the moment for you to show what you’re able to do and to show your potential.
“During the course we will spend some time in class for the theoretical part but we will put emphasis on the practical training sessions because to learn refereeing most is on the field of play not in class.
“It will be an opportunity for us to get the referees familiar with the CAF philosophy and the CAF expectations in terms of football understanding, tactical approach, use consideration, decision making process, game management, players management and match control. All those things will help you to perform on the field.”
The respected former Referee stressed that the beautiful game cannot develop with enhancing the capacities of the match officials.
“We cannot develop football without developing refereeing. We will give our maximum and I hope the referees, it will be the moment to ask questions you cannot leave here with any kind of doubt.
“We need to make everything clear. You need to know what you have to do, where you have to go, why you have to go there once you enter the field of play to bring back good results.
“As the member of the refereeing committee said, we want to raise the level of refereeing here and we want to see more WAFU-A referees in our competitions,” Doue concluded.
Lamin Kaba Bajo the President of WAFU-A and The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) welcomed the training of Women’s Referees describing it as a joyous moment for the GFF and WAFU-A.
“This is indeed a very joyous moment for us to host this very important activity of our zonal calendar. I’m sure you’re aware just about three weeks ago the WAFU-A secretariat in The Gambia has been re-operationalised and on the heels of that this very important training,” President Bajo said as he officially opened the week-long seminar.
“I’ve a personal passion for refereeing and I have some much belief and respect for referees -there is no football without referees. We have a lot of work to do at the zonal level to increase the number of our female referees’ participating at continental and global level.
It’s coming up. There’s a lot of improvement at the level of the continent and at the level of the zone but we have to work very hard. I challenge the instructors so that we can continue to increase the number of referees especially on the women’s side because they can do equally better as the men do.
“We take pride in hosting this event and we couldn’t have any more important personalities to preside over this training than Mr. Doue himself and his colleagues. Were very grateful to the CAF Secretary General Mr. Veron for allowing you all to leave Cairo to be here for this important training,” the President said.
Fatou Gaye, a Member of WAFU-A Referees Committee thanked the leadership of the zonal union for holding the training for the women’s referees to help increase the WAFU-A representation in the Elite Referees of CAF and FIFA.
“I would like to thank the WAFU-A authorities for accepting to organise this course whose aim is to strengthen the capacity of women’s referees in the zone for better representation in the elite refereeing of CAF and FIFA,” the experienced Gaye said.
“WAFU-A has suffered from low representation in the Elite of African Refereeing. It is very important to uplift female referees in the zone to become references in refereeing.
“The aim is to understand the cause of the low representation and to provide solutions that will allow the participants of this course to participate in the development of African football. This workshop will serve as a roadmap for us to revitalise the presence of female referees from this zone in the elite of world refereeing,” she added.
The Secretary General of The Gambia Football Federation, Lamin M. Jassey emphasised the GFF’s commitment to continue its cordial working relationship with the WAFU-A Secretariat in Banjul.
“The Gambia Football Federation has been working very closely with the WAFU-A secretariat in organising this event and that will be the trend as far as the GFF is concerned,” said the GFF CEO.
“The GFF president Lamin Kaba Bajo doubles as the WAFU-A president and we are members of the zonal union and as hosts we have certain responsibilities that we have to shoulder.
“We will make sure to fulfil our obligations during this training and the other activities that will be held in The Gambia.”
Article culled from WAFU A Facebook Page
