Monrovia – The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has concluded a weeklong beginner female referee course at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS).
The course was held from September 5-9 and brought together 25 participants, who were between 16 to 23 years, from Maryland, Nimba, Margibi and Montserrado Counties.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the President of the Liberia Football Referees Association (Lifra), Cllr. Joseph Kollie, urged the young referees to uphold credibility, integrity and discipline.
He told the participants that they have just taken the first step and will need to put in time in order to become top referees.
Cllr. Kollie, who is an LFA executive committee member, warned the group that being a referee is not a money-making profession.
“Being a referee is like a volunteer. You will get stipends or per diems for game but this is not a money-making profession. We will not tolerate referees receiving bribes. Of course, you will be severely punished when you are caught,” he warned.
LFA Secretary-General Isaac Montgomery, referee director Ebenezer Stanley Konah, Roseline T. Kollie and Christopher Nylander drilled the participants on the technical aspect of being a referee while Sylvester Johnson and Reuben Gaye handled the physical aspect.
Montgomery, Kollie, Johnson and Nylander were certificated in August as referee instructors, having attended a Fifa-sponsored elite course.
