Five-day football referee clinic underway in Kohima

Dimapur, Sep. 28 (EMN): A five-day football referee clinic organised by the Kohima Town Club (KTC) got underway at IG Stadium in Kohima on Tuesday.

27 participants (23 male and four female) including referees from Kiphire, Phek and Dimapur districts will be undergoing the training, an update informed.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) referee instructor Joy Chandra and national referee Priyo are the instructors of the clinic.

It said that Z Kire, Rtd. DGP Nagaland and Advisor of the Club exhorted the gathering during the short inaugural session.

He encouraged the trainees to maintain discipline and make the best use of the training, while expressing hope to see some of the referee trainees conducting the World Cup someday.

According to Kire, Nagas have the potential to shine in football.

He encouraged the trainees to stay updated with the latest rules and laws of football which keeps changing from time to time.

Observing the enrolment of girls in the training, he said the women football team had not made much progress in Nagaland, but women football players should not be discouraged.

KTC president Dr. Viketoulie said the club decided to host the referee clinic instead of Football League this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stating that football is one of the important sports in Nagaland, he said the scope of the referees was also expanding. While the KTC has been working to promote football in the state, he said that there is a need to improve the quality of the sport.

He said the clinic was to improve the standard of football by training referees in the state while also imparting fresh updates on both physical and mental fitness for referee officials. He hoped that the participants could learn from the five-day long clinic and improve the standard of the game.

Various classes such as practical training, fitness test preparation, positioning and movement, qualities of a referee discussion, laws, recovery, video test, analysis of video and others will be imparted to the participants during the five-day training.