Goan referees to benefit from upskill workshops

Panaji: The Goa Football Association (GFA) organizes probably the most number of matches by any state body. At rough count, there were close to 1,300 matches last season, of which 56% were for youth.

With increasing demand, the need for more qualified officials is now getting louder.Currently there are 115 active officials in Goa, only six of them officiating at the national level. Tejas Nagvenkar remains the only FIFA referee in the state.To ensure there are more officials, GFA has now partnered with Reliance Foundation Youth Sports to conduct a Match Officials’ Workshop from Nov 9 at the GFA office at Fatorda.“We want to educate (referees) and train them, so that they can move to a higher level,” GFA head of refereeing, Melwin D’Costa, told TOI recently. “We want to be self-sufficient in the future.”The workshop will take place across three FIFA international windows in Nov 2025, January and March next year, with the sessions covering topics such as laws of the game, fitness and position, game management, communication and technology.

The referees, mainly from the age group of 30 and below, will be monitored and guided over a period of 18 months, and will then be boosted for career pathways into AIFF-certified national refereeing levels.The All India Football Federation (AIFF) introduced full-time contracts for lite match officials in Jan 2023 and Goan officials could not take up the job on a full-time basis.“Refereeing is not an easy job. We have to come up with instant decisions on the field of play.

There is lot of criticism, that’s why many are hesitant to take up the role. I am moving from north to south to convince young people, mostly physical education teachers, to take to refereeing,” said Melwin.Melwin will conduct the workshop, along with AIFF referees instructor Maria Rebello, who will conduct the first session.The programme will also benefit RFYS as they need officials to conduct the Reliance Foundation Development League every year, not only in Goa but across the country. “Our partnership with the GFA ensures that these aspiring referees don’t just receive training but also gain real match experience in Reliance Foundation tournaments and other tournaments hosted in Goa,” said a RFYS official.RFYS plans to integrate the referees into competitions starting from youth levels such as RF Youth Sports (U-7 to U-17) and hopefully in the RF Development League (U-21), Goa Professional League and all the way up to senior levels.The initiative aligns with Reliance Foundation’s overall support since 2023 for the development of match officials with nine women match official’s workshops conducted across the country over 18 days that led to over 230 officials being upskilled.“This exposure across all levels, regions shall eventually help in growing the match-official ecosystem as an integral part of football development in the country.” said the official.