GFA’s Integrity Seminar For Referees Ends Successfully Today

The integrity seminar organized by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for referees selected to officiate in the upcoming domestic football season has come to its successful conclusion today.

The 4-day seminar started on Tuesday and has ended today with a total of 311 referees being taken through training to prepare them for the Ghana Premier League, the Division One League, and the Elite Women’s League.

FIFA and CAF Referees Instructor, Lim Kee Chong from Mauritius led the training seminar for the referees and took the participants through practical training on the laws of the game as well as training on match-fixing amongst others.

In an interview with Joy Sports at the end of Day 1 of the training, the retired referee charged the referees to always resist and report clubs that try to offer them any sort of bribe.

“This is about a lecture. A presentation about integrity to make them aware of what they should do, what they are expected and what they are exposed to because now football is a business so there is a lot of money involved”, Lim Kee Chong said.

He stressed, “They have to be very careful. When people want to offer those [bribe], whatever they offer they have to resist of course and then report. This is the most important thing”.

Other instructors who lectured at the seminar include fitness trainer Jason Damoo from Seychelles and Bento Navesse from Mozambique.

On the final day today, the Ghana FA held a workshop for all match commissioners selected for the upcoming season.

The training seminar has been organized by the country’s football governing body to get the referees sensitized and ready for the return of the local league which has been inactive for over a year now.

The Ghana Premier League is starting on December 28, 2019, with the Division One and Women’s League likely to kick off in January 2020.