Football Association of Malawi is, with assistance from FIFA conducting, a five-day Member Associations  Elite Refereeing Course at Mpira Village in Blantyre.

The course which has extracted 30 elite referees across the country started on Monday and will end on Friday.

Speaking during the opening ceremony FAM Referees Subcommittee Chairperson FAM Exco Member Rashid Ntelera said referees are important stakeholders of the game hence the need for them to be properly trained and updated on the ever evolving laws of the game. 

“Referees have the capacity to make or break a match because a match’s outcome depends on their decisions.

“These kinds of courses are organised because FIFA and the Member Associations understand how important referees are to the game and with the Laws of the game being updated every year, there is need for referees to be conversant with the laws .

“After the five days,  it is our expectation that they the will  give us best performances in their assignments. We want them to always be on top of the game and never doubt themselves,” said Ntelera.

The course is being facilitated by South African FIFA Referees Technical Instructor Carlos Hendrques Malawian FIFA Physical Fitness Instructor Mark Mzengo.

The referees underwent a physically fitness test on Monday morning as part of the course.