“Catch Them Young Referee Policy” will be very difficult to implement in Ghana – Referee F. K. Mensah

The Ghana Football Association has officially launched the “Catch Them Young Refereeing Policy” aimed at unearthing young talented referees across the country.

The Catch Them Young Policy is designed to identify, educate and train young talents between the ages of 13-16 to officiate juvenile matches within their regions.

At the launch of the Policy, GFA President, Kurt E.S. Okraku stressed on the need to imbibe the needed values in referees at an early stage and train them to attain the highest level in referee.

“If we want good referees who can compete with the best in the world at male and female competitions, then it is important to identify and start training them at an early age“, he alluded.

He emphasized, “we want to comb every corner of the country to find boys and girls with a passion for refereeing and add value to them”.

However,  Referee Frederick Kweku Mensah, Western Regional Referees Manager who admitted the move expressed some challenges that may bedevil the implementation of the Policy. 

“The Catch Them Young Referee Policy” will be very difficult to implement in our country because of the age category of 13 years, it’s too young for parents to even allow their children to join, unlike the outside world. We can at least increase the age range a bit”, Referee Mensah told Abaidoo Abednego on Spice Fm in Takoradi.

In accordance with the new Refereeing structure, Referee Mensah was one of the ten (10) Referee Managers appointed for the Ten Regional Football Associations (RFAs).

Story: Wisdom Fiifi Agbleke