Young Soccer Referees Called to Workshop

There’s a call for aspiring young referees in the sport of soccer and today that call was headed by a number of soccer enthusiasts from across the region.  This morning at the headquarters of the Football Federation of Belize in Belmopan, a handful of up and coming coaches and referees gather for a seminar in learning the fundamentals and importance of officiating a soccer match on the local, national and regional levels.  Eugene Contreras is the Referee Director at the F.F.B.

Eugene Contreras, Referee Director, F.F.B.

“The first idea that came is that we are on a recruitment drive for young referees in Belize, so we teamed up with UNCAF which is part of CONCACAF and we brought this course here for referees that are in projection to be on the FIFA list in the next five or six years.”

Isani Cayetano

“Now it seems as though it’s made up of a cross section of participants from across the region.  Speak to us about their attendance and their participation in this particular initiative.”

Eugene Contreras

Eugene Contreras

“Sure, we have referees coming from all of the regions from CONCACAF in the Caribbean, including Mexico and we have all of Central America.  All the referees that are involved in this are part of their federation in their country and they have been officiating in their area.”

Isani Cayetano

“How important is this for Belize in particular, considering that we are still trying to get certain things off the ground to be able to remain viable, if that were the case?”

Eugene Contreras

“For us it’s very, very important because we are on the first recruitment step to get more referees involved and get more referees on the FIFA list, so therefore this course is like a first step on the ladder for our young referees.”