With football activity in the country at a standstill for almost one full year due to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, St Catherine Football Association President Elaine Walker-Brown has decided to use the downtime to fix at least one area of the sport that has been lacking in her parish, and that is refereeing.

Speaking on television recently, Walker-Brown, who is serving her first term as president of the FA, said that there is an acute shortage of referees in the parish and that now is as good a time as any to address the situation, even with the possibility of some aspects being restricted.

“I approached the St Catherine referees group Chairman Mr Clayton and one of the things we looked at was that we are going to be scarce with referees.

“I think we must capitalise on the downtime and see if we can recruit some referees and start the theoretical part of training them, and when COVID goes away, we look at [the] physical aspect of the training.”

Walker-Brown has identified the pool from which she wants to recruit, that being high schools and colleges and communities within the parish.

“We want to identify some of our fifth and sixth formers, we want to reach G C Foster College and the community on a whole, because we know that there are a lot of youngsters who would want to take on this task,” she said.

Though the idea is hers and that of the St Catherine FA, the actual training of the referees would be done under the auspices of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Walker-Brown explained.

“I have spoken to Mr Victor Stewart, who is the head of referees at the JFF, and very soon he is going to confirm the date with us, because it will be run by the JFF. As soon as we get the date, we will send out the information and try and get in these persons.”

The JFF board member said that her experiences have informed her decision to increase the referee pool and that she wants to have more Fifa referees coming from her parish in particular.

“I know that there is a shortage of referees because before COVID, when there is a Premier League and Super League game, the other leagues can hardly find referees to come to the games, and the older referees are going away and we are not recruiting and bringing in others. So, the best time is now, so that when football [returns] we will have some youngsters to expose and develop to be Fifa referees in the parish. We want top referees coming out of St Catherine.”

Walker-Brown, herself a former referee, explained what she believes are some of the benefits of being involved in football that way.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity, it’s a prestige position, it develops your whole being, makes you into a holistic person [and] you get exposure.”

She admitted that it isn’t all cookies and cream at the beginning, but that in the end, the rewards are worth it.

“At the start it can be challenging going into certain communities, but you have to be strong, and if you want to assist in the growth and development of yourself and football, this is the avenue to go. You can go to the highest level and you can earn and receive good salary from being a referee. It’s challenging, but it makes you into becoming a strong man or woman,” she insisted.

She also advised that those who may be transitioning from being players can look to refereeing as a new career opportunity.

“It’s a very good area to look at if you really love football, if you want to see the development of football and you want to assist and get involved in an area. If you are not an administrator, if you are not a coach, if you are a former player and you can’t play anymore, I would encourage you to transition into becoming a referee.”

For at least the next three seasons, St Catherine will be represented by both Portmore United and Dunbeholden FC in the Jamaica Premier League and Walker-Brown believes that one of those two teams will bring glory to the parish.

— Dwayne Richards