With PNGFA’s vision to involve more women in refereeing, the association has successfully run a FIFA women referee course last week where 29 females from the member associations participated in a six day workshop last week at PNGFA Academy in Lae. The course was facilitated by Sandra Serafini FIFA Women’s Referee Instructor from USA.
This was the first of its kind for the FIFA women’s referee course in PNG that equip more of our women to officiate in matches. The women who attended the course leave with more knowledge and prepared to officiate games in their respective associations and be successful.
During the week the women went through different laws of the game, group activities to highlight the important parts which help reinforce the knowledge to do practical on the field.
During the practical the women experienced lot of chances to make decision for off-side, when to move, how to move, to call fouls, direct free kicks, indirect free kicks and positioning.
The game for women is developing very rapidly all over the world and now PNGFA has taken another big step to develop women’s football and we need more women officials to do women’s league and also advance to officiate men’s league.
The challenge is now on these women to put into practice what they learnt when going back to the associations.
Sandra said it’s been an incredible week for her working with those women officials with their enthuasim and efforts have been so good.
”It is the first step for a very long journey that they could go as far as they want in refereeing so I want to leave them with, stay in touch, stay in contact, stay strong, stay confident and use this as the beginning of a career for them in officiating”, Ms Serafini says.
PNGFA CEO Dimirit Mileng in his closing speech thank every participant and encourages more women to become referees.
“It’s been a privilege for me coming that far as the only women representing my province Alotau attending this course has given me so much knowledge and have seen and learnt stuff that I haven’t learn before that will help me to do more on what I’ve been doing in my province”, said Ms Bayagau.