Twenty-four local elite referees have received their certificates of participation in a recent FIFA Referees Assistance Program (RAP) course conducted here in Trinidad and Tobago.
The referees engaged in a week-long seminar conducted by former FIFA Referee and FIFA instructor Peter Prendergast and fitness instructor Allan Brown of Costa Rica at the San Juan North Secondary last month.
On Wednesday at the offices of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, they each received their certificates from TTFA President David John-Williams who urged them to keep striving for excellence as he promised the support of the FA towards referees development and the establishment of a Referees Academy.
“I want to encourage the participants to strive for excellence. We need to see more Trinidad and Tobago referees regionally and internationally. We are way behind on that,” John-Williams said.
“We are trying to move in a different direction. As President of the FA, we are striving for excellence and that hit an exclamation point with what happened last Friday. It is the first time in the history of the TTFA that such a large investment is coming into football (NLCB partnership for Elite Youth Development Program) and that tells you where the organisation that I presently head want to go.”
“One of the things we set out to do is set up a referees academy and this is still on the agenda. We have to do this together. This benefits you who are in the game now. The thinking behind having this academy is to have one which will be the first in the Caribbean, that way we can generate revenue where people from the Caribbean can come to our academy and get special training. This can revolutionise refereeing in the Caribbean,” he added.
“The important thing is when you finish refereeing, what is the legacy you are leaving for those coming behind. That is my approach to life. When I demit office in three years or if they decide to give me another four years, I want to leave a legacy. The legacy I want to leave is that the foundation of football whether it be at youth level, senior level or refereeing, is in a better place,” John-Williams stated.
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Referees Association Joseph Taylor also revealed that local FIFA Referees Rodphin Harris, Kevin Lewis and Joseph Betrand recently returned from a successful participation at a UEFA developmental course. And two local Female FIFA Referees Cecile Hinds and Crystal Sobers are off to tier 1 CONCACAF course in Miami within the next couple of weeks.
FIFA RAP Participants
1. Crystal Sobers – FIFA Referee
2. Cecile Honda- FIFA Referee
3. Rodphin Harris – FIFA Referee
4. Keon Yorke – FIFA Referee
5. Ainsley Rochard – FIFA Assistant Referee
6. Caleb Wales – FIFA Assistant Referee
7. Joseph Bertrand- FIFA Assistant Referee
8. Glen Charles – FIFA Assistant Referee
9. Kevin Lewis – FIFA Assistant Referee
10. Julianne McDougall – FIFA Assistant Referee
11. Kyle Carabon – National Assistant Referee
12. Nicholas Augustus – National Assistant Referee
13. Oladele Thomas – National Assistant Referee
14. Johann Corneille – National Assistant Referee
15. Carissa Jacobs – National Assistant Referee
16. Keisha Roberts – National Assistant Referee
17. Keilon Bacchus – National Referee
18. Kevin Smart – National Referee
19. Joel Cox – National Referee
20. Nickolia Nyron – National Referee
21. CJ O’Brien – National Referee
22. Nicholas Gloudon – National Referee
23. Tricia Des Vignes – National Referee
Technical Instructors: – J. Goolcharan, M. Ragoonath, M. Baptiste, L. Bramble-Thompson
Fitness Instructors: – J. Taylor, J. Drayton