Five-day course involved 44 participants from West Asia
Focus was on both technical and on-field practical sessions
Core philosophy is to create a ‘ripple effect’ to ensure information cascades down to more referees in the region
A total of 44 participants from West Asian countries (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen, as well as IR Iran) completed the FIFA Futuro III Refereeing Instructors course recently held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 10-14 September. The five days focused on a combination of technical and practical sessions spanning topics, including penalty area incidents, tactical fouls, game management analysis, and offside, as well as presentations on Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.
The FIFA FUTURO III Refereeing Instructors Course was jointly organised by FIFA with the Asian Football Confederation and brought participants together from the West Asia region with the primary objective to train and enhance the skills of referee instructors.
Mr. Hani Ballan, Vice Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, emphasised the aim of achieving a consistent interpretation of the laws of the game through the ‘teach-the-teachers’ concept.
Alongside Mr. Hani Ballan, Shamsul Maidin, Director of the AFC Referees Department also participated in the course. International technical lecturers such as Ali Al-Traifi, Farkhad Abdullaev, Ismail Al-Hafi, Hakan Anas, Awni Hassouneh, and Heba Abed provided their expertise, while the physical aspects of refereeing were led by Ganesan Maniam, Giuseppe Galvano, and Hassan Al-Khalidi.
Future courses will further enhance the skills and knowledge of the instructors, including an increased emphasis on the importance of fitness to ensure referees are physically prepared to officiate matches.
Manuel Navarro, Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) Referees Director, expressed his gratitude to FIFA for selecting Saudi Arabia as the host country for these courses and encouraged the participants to seize the opportunity to learn and showcase their potential.
Hasan Hassan, FIFA Development Manager highlighted the potential for development in refereeing and the support and investment available from FIFA in discussions with delegates from the participating member associations (MAs), while Ismail Alhafi, FIFA Regional Development Officer emphasised the underlying philosophy of the FUTURO III courses is to ensure that the knowledge and skills acquired during it must be transmitted to referees and other instructors within their respective associations, helping to create a ripple effect of knowledge sharing.