The All India Football Federation (AIFF) held a technical preparatory program for referees of the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for the 2023-2024 season in Mumbai on December 4 and 5, 2023. The program was attended by 24 referees and six officials from six AIFF centers across the country, with the workshop aimed at developing referees’ skills and improving their on-field performance for the upcoming IWL season starting on December 8, Friday. AIFF collaborated with the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) to conduct the workshop.
Referee Evaluation and Skill Enhancement
The workshop was organized by AIFF Refereeing Head Trevor Kettle and included the evaluation of the referees’ skills through various criteria and improvement through individual sessions with each referee.
Promoting Women’s Referee Participation in Indian Football
The program aimed to make tangible efforts to enhance the participation of female referees and officials in Indian football, with the goal of achieving gender equality in sports in the country, which is one of the main objectives of the ongoing RFYS 2023-2024 campaign. Developing the skills of female coaches and referees is a key goal for the current season. RFYS is working to increase female participation both on and off the field, and a girls’ football category under 15 has been introduced as a step in this direction.
First Indian Female Referee at the Workshop
One of the participants in the workshop was the first Indian female referee to officiate at a FIFA U-17 World Cup event (Final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jordan in 2016), Ofina Fernandes, who also works as an official in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She is a former international football player for India, and after joining the Indian Air Force, she works as an air traffic controller.
Despite officiating for two decades, Fernandes continues to seek opportunities that can help her improve. She said: “The topics discussed in this session were very helpful. We are learning what we didn’t learn before. The IWL match officials workshop organized by the Reliance Foundation and AIFF will greatly assist emerging referees in India. I would like to thank the Reliance Foundation, AIFF, and IWL for giving us this opportunity to attend and participate in this program. I hope more of these programs are organized for female officials in India.”
Fernandes’ Football Journey
Fernandes began her football career as a player, representing the state of Goa for nearly a decade before representing the Indian team in the AFC Women’s Championship in 2003. Her transition to the Indian Air Force limited her ability to devote sufficient time to her playing career, which is why she decided to become a referee to continue engaging with the sport.
Fernandes continued: “I have been a mother for 10 years and a referee for 20 years; I started my career in 2003. I have been on the FIFA panel for the last ten years and I am the first Indian to officiate any final match in the U-17 World Cup (finals in Jordan in 2016).”
Similar Workshop in Kolkata
A similar two-day workshop, attended by 32 officials and chaired by Mr. Kettle, was held on March 3 and 4 earlier this year in Kolkata. The program was attended by referees from six AIFF centers: Jamshedpur, Kharagpur, Aizawl, Hyderabad, Shillong, and Kolkata. Through such sports initiatives, the Reliance Foundation continues to affirm its commitment to enhancing and promoting the presence and participation of women in various sports.
Source: http://www.wionews.com/sports/trevor-kettle-leads-aiffs-iwl-match-official-workshop-in-mumbai-667723
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