Coaches, Referees, and Football Administrators Commence Training in Maridi
Coaches, Referees, and Football Administrators Commence Training in Maridi
By Bongomin Walter Joshua
Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), in partnership with the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA), launched a five-day training for referees, coaches, and administrators in Maridi. The exercise, which is being conducted at the Maridi Women resource center and facilitated by FIFA coaches’ instructor Dr. Salyi Lolaku Samuel and his counterpart from the referees’ department, Mr. Sadiq Repent William runs from Wednesday, May 24th - 29th 2023.
Speaking during the official opening of the training, the commissioner of Maridi County, Honorable Miiri Alfred emphasizes that sports are a unifying factor adding that there is no segregation, discrimination, or nepotism in sports
The program co-coordinator for WPDI, western Equatoria state, Mr. Mande Daniel said 24 coaches, 12 referees, and 10 football administrators are currently taking the course under a project “peace through sports”.
Mande further describes the importance of the project, “as a peace organization, we are able to unite the youth and once they are empowered in all aspects, they can build this country, develop it and take it to a higher level.”
Nora Viola, one of the trainees aspiring to become a professional match official, said she hopes to acquire more knowledge on how to control a football match and the laws that govern the beautiful game.
The two-year pilot project starts today and once the training is done, there will be a peace engagement day, and thereafter 12 football teams will be formed to participate in a peace tournament, 6 for girls and six for boys. A total of 204 players from the 12 teams will receive sports supplies courtesy of WPDI once the training comes to an end.
The organization is looking for funding to take the project to other counties of western Equatoria state. Maridi, Juba, and Torit have been selected in the Republic of South Sudan to pilot the project.
