Led by FIFA Referee Instructor Mark Hestor, with the assistance of FFAS referee instructors Uini Aliva and Lemusa Alatasi, the course was held from 23-26 July with 16 participants looking to update their knowledge of the game.
“The main objective of this course is to assist the FFAS referees’ education and to improve the quality of the referees,” Hester says. “Another important factor is to get a uniformity in the interpretation of the application of the Laws of the Game.”
This course in American Samoa is the first in OFC to use new training modules that have been introduced recently, Hester says, as it is the first Member Association (MA) to host a referee course this year.
One of the new methods used during the theorectical sessions included the participants breaking up into groups and using laptops to review and discuss video clips of in-game situations such as fouls and misconducts, which Hester says should help them think through the process of certain situations that arise during games.
FFAS president Faiivae Alex Godinet says with the latest season of the National League due to get underway very soon he hopes all the participants have taken advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as possible from the instructors.
“That’s why the association tries to hold this course around this time every year so that you can be refreshed with the Laws of the Game and especially in this instance with Mark using new training techniques,” Godinet says.
Hester is scheduled to run at least two more FIFA MA Referee Instructor Courses this year in New Caledonia and Fiji, with others yet to be confirmed.
For more on American Samoa football go to www.ffas.as

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