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The West African Football Union (WAFU Zone B) has started a training workshop in Abidjan for General Coordinators (GC) to boost their knowledge in match organisation.
The two-day event, which started on Tuesday, will allow existing GCs to upgrade their knowledge in the craft while serving as training for prospective match officials.
Twenty-six officials from the all seven members of the regional body are in attendance as well as others from the other zones who have been invited to benefit from the training.
Prospective match officials from Wafu A (Liberia) and UNAF (Tunisia) are also attending the workshop even though they are not part of Wafu B.
The training workshop will prepare the GCs for upcoming matches in their zones as well as helping them to implement similar structures in their domestic leagues.
Cote d’Ivoire Sports Minister Danho Paulin indicated his government’s resolve to improve the game in the region when opening the workshop in the country’s capital.
“This workshop taking place in our country is a clear demonstration of our desire to improve the game internally and also within the region,” said Ousmane Gbane, Director at the Sports Ministry, who was representing the minister.
“The world is changing, our sport and our football must evolve and this starts with the training of our match officials like the GSc to make the game even more professional.”
WAFU B President Kurt Okraku praised the Ivorian government for its interest in the game and said collaboration among the regional bodies is essential.
“I thank the Ivorian authorities who agreed to host this workshop. Cote d’Ivoire is a big football country and it is only right as the next host of the AFCON,” Okraku said.
“We have seen officials from other zones attending this workshop and shows that we are building strong working relationships to prepare many top match officials for future competitions not only for our zones and CAF competitions but also our domestic leagues.”
The theoretical and practical aspects of the workshop were done by experienced instructors Kelly Mukandansa of Rwanda, Burkinabe Rock Tiendrebeogo and the Wafu B Executive Director Boureima Balima.
“The success of a competition begins with the good training of officials and supervisors. It is in this spirit that we at Wafu B decided to organize this kind of training on the technical and administrative aspects of the game,” Balima said.
“The General Coordinators are very important before, during and after the competitions or league matches. Their training will help us to better manage our competitions.”
The practical phase of the workshop took place at the Champroux Stadium in Abidjan where participants were given the chance to operate as General Coordinators.
This is the latest of training workshops being organised by WAFU B to improve on the administration aspect of the game within the zonal body.
The General Secretaries in the zone will also get the chance to improve their knowledge when they also hold their seminar in Abidjan from February 17-18.
