President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA),Kurt Okraku, has highlighted the necessity of regularly scheduled examinations for referees nationwide.
He proposed conducting these exams three times a year to ensure that referees have a thorough understanding of the game’s rules, thereby enhancing their performance during matches.
“The Regional Referees Associations have to be honest and more scientific.
There should be mandatory theoretical exams conducted three times in a year, with these exams being computerized for all referees across the country”, he said.
“In the past, we dwelt a lot on physical training as a yardstick to determine the quality of referees; over time, we realized that they tended to be physically fit but did not have a firm grasp of the laws governing the game,” Kurt Okraku said during a one-day training workshop for Referees Managers of the ten Regional Football Associations in Accra.
Under his administration, Kurt Okraku has ensured serious investments to improve refereeing.
He is the brain behind the Catch Them Youth refereeing policy.
The “Catch Them Young” referees have been officiating matches at the District and Regional Football Association levels since the programme was launched in 2020.