FA boost for Botswana refs

FA boost for Botswana refs
By Johann Alexander - Thursday, 08 July, 2010

Janie Frampton and Lucy May offer expertise during five-day workshop.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup taking place just next door in South Africa, The FA sent two of their leading female Referee Instructors to Botswana recently to undertake a five-day referee training workshop with 32 young hopefuls, some taking their first step on the refereeing ladder and others seen as some of the most promising referees in Botswana.

Janie Frampton, The FA’s National Referee Manager for Education and Training, and Lucy May, one of The FA’s new Female Referee Ambassadors, spent a week in Botswana tutoring their class with theoretical and practical sessions covering referee communications, application of Laws, management of players and refereeing teamwork.

“This is my second visit to Botswana with The FA and one that I was really looking forward to coming on," said Frampton.

"The place has developed so much since I was here last and it’s fantastic to work alongside the Botswana FA. They are so welcoming to us and willing to learn, you can see they just want to develop as much as they can and put so much effort into developing their workforce.

“This is the first time two female Referee Instructors have held a referee workshop as part of our international development programme and I’m delighted to be able to take Lucy with me for this workshop. It speaks volumes for our 'Get into Referee' Campaign back at home that we are now bringing through so many qualified referees and Lucy is one of our brightest young instructors.

“It’s hard work but it’s not just a job to us, it’s a passion. The FA does not get full recognition for all its work around the world, which is frustrating, but I’m glad we get opportunities like these workshops to really support and help developing nations such as Botswana, who are one of our three Meridian partners, in their referee and coaching programmes.”

The course included a series of classroom sessions combined with fitness and practical sessions to ensure all aspects of referee training were covered. The week ended with a special exhibition match between the national Botswana squad, which is preparing for it’s 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Tunia in September.

Leteng Magogwe, one of Botswana’s most promising young referees, was chosen to take charge of this exhibition match alongside two Assistants, whilst the rest of the class were given the opportunity to critique the performance and apply what they had learnt during the week.

Magogwe was pleased with how he spent his week: “I really enjoyed the workshop with Janie and Lucy," he said. "It was tough at times and we had a lot of classroom sessions that required complete focus. But we as a group learnt so much out of it and I’m thankful to the Botswana FA for putting me forward for the course. We can learn so much from this kind of training and I know already that I feel more confident and better equipped as a referee thanks to our tutors.

“The highlight of the week was definitely taking charge of the match. It was an honour to referee players from the national squad but I also learnt you have to take the emotion out of it. I was very nervous refereeing the match as all my classmates were taking notes on the touchline about decisions I made. I wasn’t looking forward to going back into the classroom after the match when we analysed the game. Luckily, I had really good feedback and learnt even more when we went over different incidents and decisions. I issued two red cards and gave a penalty so there were lots of incidents to talk about!”

On their only day off during the trip, the instructors chose to visit the nearby SOS Village, 12 miles from Gabarone, where two thirds of the orphans at the village have HIV or Aids. They took with them over £5,000 worth of kit to give to the village, incuding footballs, bibs, kit, badges and pens. For May, this was a highlight of her first overseas trip with The FA.

“We were bombarded by all these little smiling characters when we arrived," she recalled. "They might not have parents but they live in such a close, positive environment, they all had a real sense of belonging, that from the outside, you’d never be able to tell of the obstacles they have already faced in their young lives. It was such a humbling experience and really makes you realise how just lucky you are. These kids were absolutley amazing.

“I’ll never forget three little girls that were there. They didn’t want to play football or any of the stuff we brought with us to give to them, they just wanted to play boats in the cardboard boxes that we’d brought the kit in. I’m not an emotional person, I don’t cry often, but that really got to me.

“It was a massive challenge for me to come here and I’m grateful to Janie for choosing me as her fellow instructor. There is a huge difference in refereeing and actually training referees but I loved every minute of it and we had a such a brilliant group to work with over the week, well, most of the time they were!”

For the past ten years, The FA's International Relations department has delivered its vision of "using the power of football to build a better future at home and abroad", particularly in Africa. Delegations have visited Cameroon, Mali, Botswana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Angola. During this period, The FA started to play its role in the UEFA-CAF Meridian Project in which, in 1997, it had been partnered with the three southern African countries; Botswana, Lesotho & Malawi.

The FA now leads one of the most proactive development programmes of any national association in the world, with its work commended worldwide, notably by the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, and the Senior Vice Presidents involved directly with The FA’s confederation programmes. The FA also ties in with various partner agencies such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, DFID, UK Sport and the British Council in terms of using football as a development tool.

Last season, there was a 45 per cent increase in referees at Level 9, the first step to becoming a fully fledged referee, with 5,197 new recruits. The total of qualified referees has risen by nine per cent, to 25,502, with female referees up by 13 per cent compared to last year. New trainee female referees are up 17 per cent to 407.

The FA's "Get Into Refereeing" campaign, in association with Carlsberg, is part of the National Game Strategy, a £200 million investment in grassroots football. For more information about becoming a referee, visit www.TheFA.com/Referee.