THE curtains came down yesterday on the week-long course for referees and assistant referees at the basic and intermediate levels.
Thirty five individuals attended the course under the watchful eyes of two FIFA Instructors, Victor Stewart and Joseph Taylor, both from Jamaica.
Stewart, Senior Regional Instructor from the Caribbean Football Union /CONCACAF said the course was designed for the islands in the Caribbean with the objective of bringing the referees up to date with the modern concept of the Laws of the Game, its interpretation and application.
He said: “The very positive point in this course was the continued enthusiasm of the referees. It was obvious that they are willing to learn, they wanted to learn. For me that is a big positive.”
But Stewart said he was not overly convinced that there would be sufficient work going on in St. Lucia when he and his colleague left. He said: “Two years I was at this very same course and my colleague came last year and here I am this year and I don’t see the incremental growth in terms of the performance. I don’t see enough evidence that work is continuing based on the curriculum that we have.”
He added: “ I am saying what I saw here in 2014 and what Joseph Taylor saw in 2015, the referees are at the same level.
Stewart went on: “ I want to impresses on the St. Lucia Football Association to put the necessary structure in place to ensure regular training of these referees. We have good referees in the Caribbean and this is not specific to St. Lucia. Let me tell you, we have been to the other islands within the Caribbean and it’s the same principle where not enough work is being done from an instructional point of view. When we are here we see the referees come out and based on their response and reaction they are very hungry, they are like sponge. But we want that to continue. Next year it will be different and that is how we grow, we cannot be doing this thing over and over without growth”.