Lafia- The Nasarawa State Football Referees Council says its membership drive has yielded dividends with the registration of more than 132 referees in the state.
The Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Adamu Amore, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lafia.
He said the registration of referees became imperative to ensure quality service delivery.
He added that “the importance of referees cannot be over-emphasised to the development of any game in the society; a referee is responsible for the general supervision of the game and has the final authority on all rulings and every match.
“A referee enforce the laws of the game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed and is being assisted by up to six other officials on the field and these officials are commonly referred to as referees but each has a title based on position and responsibilities.
“Other officials include head linesman, line judge, umpire, back judge, side judge and field judge, which they are in the field to discharge their functions without fear or favour and to ensure smooth sporting activities.
“So, the function of the football council is to coordinate the affairs of referees and to make sure that all referees abide by the rules of the game, reward deserving referees and sanction any referee that goes contrary to the rules and regulations.’’
Amore said the Council had so far registered 132 referees in the state as part of efforts to check quackery in the profession, as well as ensure quality service delivery among the referees for the overall development of the country.
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The chairman added that in the UEFA football, two additional assistant referees were used; one next to the goal post and directly behind the goal line, to identify fouls within the penalty area and to see when the ball crosses the goal line.
He called on registered referees to be just and fair while performing their duties in order to improve sporting activities, as well as boost socio-economic development in the country.
The chairman reinstated the commitment of the council to initiate good programmes for the referees in order to better their lives and ensure quality service delivery in the sector.
He urged other stakeholders in the state to support sporting activities in order to reduce youths’ restiveness and improve the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians. (NAN)
