Referees Begin Mock Fitness Test

The Enugu State Referees’ Council has begun a mock fitness test preparatory to the national fitness test later in the year.

The council, in collaboration with the Enugu State Football Association, organised the test for referees to determine the level of their fitness ahead of the test at the national level.

Monday Nnona, the Chairman of the state referees’ council, told newsmen that the test which is an annual exercise, was aimed at testing the level of the referees in the state.

“That is an annual ritual for referees and any referee who fails to pass that test will not officiate that year.

“The national test is billed for October 15th, and we just organised this local one to know the fitness level of our referees before proceeding to the national level.

“Their performance today is very low. As you can see, only three persons made it and so many of our referees are down with injuries.

“The national one has been postponed to the end of the league, so this is an added advantage for those referees that are not fit for them to recover because we expect about 30 referees to be at the national and premier leagues,” Nnona said.

Emmanuel Onah, the Training Officer of the state referee’s council, said the test was very important because it would help the referees to properly fit in at the national level.

According to him, the test is in preparation for the national and FIFA competitions as training has been on twice a month to get them ready as well as to avoid any casualties.

“We expect that the ones that will represent the state will come back with useful results,” Onah, a one-time FIFA-badged referee, explained.

Patrick Nworie, one of the participating referees, said he was impressed with the preparation and thanked the state FA for organising the exercise.

Paul Okeke, Chairman of the Referee’s Committee, said the exercise was an impressive one because it had added to their experiences.

“I advise the participating referees to utilise this opportunity to excel in future,” Okeke said.

Chidi Ofo-Okenwa, Chairman of the state football association, said the test was a collaboration between the football association and the council to prepare the referees for improved performance.

“The mock fitness test is all about keeping abreast of developments and preparing our referees for the forthcoming national fitness test. And I can tell, I am impressed.

“Having realised these things, we go out of our way to make sure that these things are to be done. It is a routine thing to make sure that it is fixed before the national fitness test.

“It is to ensure that the referees are Y2K compliant and that they are fit for the activities of referees, which are no longer analogue but now quite digital,” Okenwa said.

He said experts would be invited to take the referees on the necessary areas of lapses to get them fully prepared for the national test.