Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has intensified efforts to improve officiating standards by opening a five-day Fifa Member Associations (MA) Elite Referees’ Course at Mpira Village in Blantyre.
The course has attracted 35 elite referees who will undergo Video Assistant Referee (VAR) training to enhance the accuracy of refereeing decisions.
Fam Referees Development Manager Fredrick Kholopa announced that Fifa instructors Ali Muhammad from Somalia and Mark Mzengo from Malawi will facilitate the course.
“It is our expectation that this course will elevate the standard of officiation by our referees at both national and international level.
“We have also taken advantage of the forthcoming Caf Women’s Champions League Cosafa Qualifiers, which Malawi will be hosting, to ensure referees are trained in VAR. The MA course participants will join their colleagues in this training,” Kholopa said.
He added that the training is timely as Fam seeks to improve officiating standards, with only two referees, Godfrey Nkhakananga and Pondamali Tembo, being VAR compliant and licensed.
“Modern games require referees who are VAR compliant and Malawi is moving in that direction,” Kholopa said.
During the course, referees will cover match analysis, penalty area incidents, offside interpretation, positioning and reading, the new handball approach and the 2024-25 law changes.
Fam Referees Sub-Committee Chairperson Patrick Kapanga represented the association’s president Fleetwood Haiya at the opening ceremony.
The training began with fitness tests and Fam indicated that results would be used to determine who will be listed on the Fifa list for 2025.
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