The Futuro III course, redesigned by FIFA in 2009 to include instructing, fitness training and administrative elements, is being held at the Millennium Institute in Albany from 14 – 19 January.
OFC Vice President Fred de Jong officially opened the elite course on Thursday with more than 60 participants and instructors in attendance.
During his opening address, the former All White thanked FIFA for their support and recognised the achievements of OFC referees.
“Oceania has enjoyed recent success with our playing teams but also with our refereeing trios. We have had strong representation at FIFA tournaments and I’m sure that this is a bi-product of the hard work that people like yourselves have been doing in the regions and also of initiatives like this course which are well supported by FIFA.”
FIFA Head of Referee Development Fernando Tresaco-Gracia will lead this week’s course providing theoretical and practical training for the representatives from OFC’s 11 Member Associations.
During his introduction on the opening day, he was quick to point out the efforts of Referee Development Officer Massimo Raveino, Referee Instructor Neil Poloso and Fitness Trainer Kader Touati, as well as Oceania’s FIFA Development Office including Glenn Turner, Patrick Jacquemet and Lyn Shirley.
“I would like to especially thank my team here at OFC for their dedicated work in making this course possible,” said Tresaco-Gracia.
“I can tell you from FIFA that we have a very good relationship with OFC and we are working closely together to improve refereeing standards across the region.”
New Zealand Football CEO Michael Glading also spoke during the opening ceremony, giving a warm welcome to the participants and paying tribute to referees such as Mike Hester and Peter O’Leary who have set the standards for refereeing in Oceania.
OFC places high importance on developing world class match officials and in 2008 referee development received a huge boost thanks to a brand new FIFA-funded Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP).
Under the supervision of Raveino, Poloso and Touati, the programme is helping to create a more organised, professional approach to refereeing in Oceania.