Referees impress as FIFA RAP underway in Guyana

By Avenash Ramzan

Hosted for the eighth year in Guyana, the FIFA Referees Assistant Programme (RAP) got underway on Wednesday morning with a fitness test at the National Track and Field facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

Peter Prendergast, FIFA’s Regional Development Officer/Technical Instructor, gave the referees a high grade upon completion of the fitness session, pointing out that the Guyanese are the best he has seen in the Caribbean during this installment of the RAP.

News Room understands that only one of the 20 referees failed the test. Prendergast said that over the next four days, the referees, both national elite and assistant referees, would be exposed to the revised FIFA Laws of the Game.

The FIFA official said he is looking forward to working with the Guyanese referees and getting feedback on their respective interpretation of the revised laws during the classroom and field sessions.

The field sessions are scheduled for the Ministry of Education’s ground, Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown, on Friday and Saturday at 15:00h to 17:00h and Sunday at 06:00h to 08:00h respectively.

Apart from Prendergast, session will be conducted by FIFA Fitness Instructor, Allan Morgan Browne. They will be complemented by Head of the GFF’s Referees’ Department, Stanley Lancaster, along with Roy Mc Arthur and Ingraham Johnson, who are Local Technical Instructors, and Lindley Langhorne, Physical Fitness Instructor. 

The RAP is a capacity building programme which seeks to create uniformity among elite referees and enable same to meet the demands of the game.

This year’s programme was declared open by Guyana Football Federation president, Wayne Forde, at the National Resource Centre on Woolford Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

Photo caption: Officials of FIFA and GFF (seated) with the referees after Wednesday’s opening (Avenash Ramzan photo)