A four-day FIFA/OFC Elite Women’s Referee Course at the OFC headquarters concludes this weekend led by Referee Development Officer Massimo Raveino, Referee Instructors Neil Poloso, Segran Chand and Fitness Instructor Mark Hester.
Raveino and his team have taken the referees through a series of theoretical presentations and practical sessions as well as the routine fitness testing conducted before every OFC competition.
“The aim of this course is to teach the laws of the game and to help elite female referees acquire the necessary skills to manage the different situations and incidences that occur in a match,” said Raveino.
“We are also looking to qualify more women referees to serve the needs of the OFC competition department while identifying and preselecting women’s trios for FIFA World Cup competitions over the next four years.”
OFC places high importance on developing world class female match officials and in 2008 referee development received a huge boost thanks to a brand new FIFA-funded Refereeing Assistance Programme (FAP).
Under the supervision of Massimo Raveino, the programme is helping to create a more organised, professional approach to refereeing in Oceania.
In 2008, OFC was represented for the first time at a FIFA women’s tournament by trio Finau Vulivuli (FIJ), Jacqueline Stephenson (NZL) and Jovita Qilamasala (SOL) and more recently Vulivuli and Lata Tuifutuna (TON) represented OFC at the FIFA-sanctioned Algarve Cup in Portugal two months ago.
OFC U-17 Women’s Championship New Zealand 2010
12-16 April
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
New Zealand
Referees
Tupou Patia [Cook Islands]
Anna-Marie Keighley [New Zealand]
Renee Silvester [New Zealand]
Pari Oito [Tahiti]
Leisale Solomon [Vanuatu]
Assistant Referees
Melanie Wilson [Cook Islands]
Jacquiline Stephenson [New Zealand]
Stephanie Minan [Papua New Guinea]
Wanting Yagum [Papua New Guinea]
Lata-i-sia Tuifutuna [Tonga]
Marie Napuk [Vanuatu]
Referee Assessors
Chandra Segran [Fiji]
Ken Wallace [New Zealand]