The participants of the course at the NFABD House along Jalan Pusat Persidangan yesterday. They were taught the 17 laws of refereeing over several Fridays and Sundays since January 24. Picture: BT/Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
Twenty-two participants completed the Brunei-Muara District Football Association (BMDFA) Level 3 Football Referee course yesterday.
Present as the guest of honour to present the certificate to all the participants at the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) House along Jalan Pusat Persidangan in Berakas was the BMDFA president Pg Hj Ali Hassan PG DSLJ Hj Abas.
"I would like all the participants today to continue being active by pursuing their career in refereeing and continue to participate in more referee courses in the future," said BMDFA president Pg Hj Ali Hassan in his speech yesterday.
"There are many more programmes to be followed after this such as the Level 2 Football Referee and Level 1 Football Referee courses, so the journey must not stop here," he said, adding that he hopes they eventually become FIFA referees.
Brunei has three FIFA referees and five FIFA assistant referees to date.
On the local scene, though, the Sultanate has 20 referees.
"I hope that all the referees today will be able to help the current referees that we have to officiate the local tournaments in the country," continued Pg Hj Ali Hassan.
"Finally, I would like to thank all the organising committee members, including the facilitators, for their hard work in organising the course," added the BMDFA president.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, one of the course participants Ak Abdul Aziz Pg Hj Azahari said he has hopes to referee local tournaments in the near future.
"We are very grateful to be given the opportunity to take this course and we are ready to be given the responsibility to officiate a football match in the future," he said.
"I would also like to thank all the facilitators and the organisers for their time throughout the course, and we will try our best to use and apply all the knowledge and skills that were taught in the future," he added.
BMDFA set up the course with the cooperation of the Brunei Darussalam Football Referees Association (PPBNBD) and the NFABD.
All the participants of the course were put through both theory and practical sessions, where they were taught the 17 laws of refereeing over several Fridays and Sundays since January 24.
