The course was attended by 30 referees including international
and national levels and was conducted by technical instructor, Felix Tangawarima
[Zimbabwe] and fitness instructor, Mohamed Hussein Ali [Djibouti].
FIFA
fitness instructor, Mohamed Hussein Ali, who addressed at the closing ceremony,
said he admired at the fitness and performance of the Somali referees. "For me
it is the first time to arrive in Somalia, but I started helping and working
with Somali referees back in 2010, when the Somali FA had organized its courses
in Djibouti and now I see there is a big difference” the FIFA instructor said.
"Six years ago, we had more than 50% of Somali referees failing the fitness tests, but now the situation is very different and I am happy that more than 96% has passed the new fitness test. This is the result of the hard work done by local fitness instructor Abdi Abdulle Ahmed and the entire referees committee” the instructor mentioned in his address.
FIFA
technical instructor, Felix Tangawarima, started his speech with thanking the media
in general and in particularly FIFA and CAF media and as well as the AIPS Media
for helping the promotion of football throughout the world.
The
instructor added he was very grateful to Somali football federation
and the government of Somalia for the high profile hospitality they received
since coming to Somalia just a week ago.
"Before I came here I was always told about Somalia and
about Somali referees except some I knew from other international courses, but
now I can tell people about Somalia and about Somali referees. For me that is
important experience” Mr. Felix Tangawarima, said in his address.
Mr. President I want to tell you that I am very impressed
with the level of your referees. Throughout the week we took them through very difficult
situations, hardworking classes and hard working fitness sessions and they were
good in every circumstance” he said.
"I taught and tested
them against the amended laws of the game and I am happy that their level of
understanding was very high. They really demonstrated their ability to do what
they are required to. They are very young, very intelligent and even very
committed referees” he continued to say.
"Mr. President your referees are very different from
those I saw in many other African countries I visited and it is very humbling
for me to be here. In FIFA we say, if you do your part, we also do our part, so
we leave you to do your part as you are doing now and FIFA is committed to
helping you” the instructor said to conclude his address.
Somali Football Federation president, Abdiqani Said Arab,
who finally addressed at the conclusion ceremony, commended FIFA for its
efforts to enhance the level of education of referees across the world and in
particularly those in Somalia. He praised the FIFA instructors for paying extra efforts
to educate Somali referees. "I thank FIFA instructors for doing much work than
they were supposed to. On behalf of Somali football family, I would like to
thank the international instructors for the extra efforts they did” SFF
president, Abdiqani Said Arab, said.
He thanked local instructors for assisting FIFA
instructors throughout the course.”I am very delighted to get a very positive message
from the FIFA instructors. This shows that our local instructors had done well,
because they are the ones who trained and educated such very young and talented
referees from the very beginning of their career” the president noted.
Somali Football Federation Media Department
Email:info@somsoccer.com