IN its continued efforts aimed at upgrading the pool of referees and referee instructors on the island, the Saint Lucia Football Association [SLFA] Inc., in collaboration with CONCACAF and FIFA are set on implementing developmental courses for its referees.
A Referee Instructors Course was held from March 21 – 22, and an Intermediate Referee Course is planned for March 23 to 26.
Three CONCACAF/FIFA Referee instructors will facilitate the two courses.
Meanwhile, the SLFA Inc continues to aspire to be among the top regional member associations as it endeavours to better prepare its coaches for domestic, regional and international engagements.
Hence, the SLFA Inc. are undertaking its first ever CONCACAF B’ License Coaching Course in Saint Lucia.
The course takes the form of a blended approach and will be conducted by CONCACAF Senior Officials. The opening ceremony was held on Thursday, with 15 of the 19 Leagues in Saint Lucia being represented.
Committed to providing additional support to its match officials, the SLFA is moving ahead with its Referee Development Programme.
On Thursday, three FIFA Referee Instructors started a Two-Day Training Programme for six SLFA Referee Instructors at the association’s conference room.
FIFA Referee Development Officer Javier Santos and two other instructors will undertake the four-day intermediate Referee Training course starting today (March 23).
In other updates, the National U17 Team Trials commenced on March 20 at the Technical Centre. Twenty-eight players from the various districts were present as they prepare for FIFA U17 World Cup Qualifiers 2024 scheduled for later this year.
The team is under the guidance of coaches Ryan Desir and Sommers Augustin with Shayne Paul as Manager.
A SLFA spokesperson stated that training will be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays and will intensify as the tournament gets closer.