FIFA MA Refereeing Course Concludes in Djibouti

After five days of a successive marathon work, the FIFA level MA refereeing course for Somalia has come to conclusion in Djibouti On Sunday 22nd of April.

A highly arranged ceremony intended to mark on the conclusion of the high level course was held at the Djibouti Football technical centre where the theory and practical sessions have been taking place since the start of the course.

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At the closing ceremony, Somali Football federation Secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab thanked Allah for the successful course which was the second of its kind ever held for Somalia in the neighbouring Djibouti since the SFF cannot host FIFA instructors in Mogadishu currently because of insecurity.

“The SFF is very much indebted to the world football governing body FIFA for always standing alongside Somalia. We are also very grateful to the government, people and football federation of Djibouti for their tireless efforts to help us. They didn’t only host our course, but they worked hard with us during the consecutive days of the course,” the SFF secretary said.

FIFA’s Cairo RDO officer Ahmed El Shenawi said on behalf of FIFA under the leadership of Blater, he is a very grateful to the Djibouti Football Federation for the precious hosting of the Somali course and the great job they are doing with their Somali brothers.

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He added that the cooperation between Somali and Djibouti federations was very much appreciated.

“Today I am very happy that we have done a huge job for the past five days. I know it was not a long time, but good job has been accomplished and that was because of the cooperation between both Somali and Djibouti federations, the referees and the FIFA refereeing development office delegation,” he noted.

He praised the trainees for showing commitment and dedication during the five day-long course. He added he was very hopeful the Somali referees have benefited more from the course.

Somali Football federation senior vice president Ali Said Guled Roble added that Somalia was very grateful to President Joseph Blater and his world body for giving great attention to the development of Somali Football despite lawlessness in the war-devastated country.

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“FIFA is always with us in all difficulties and the Somali Football family is committed to benefiting from the tireless efforts by FIFA to promote a real football in our country,” the SFF senior vice president stated.

Djibouti Football federation honourable Hussein Fadoul Dabar thanked also the world Football governing body FIFA for its continued efforts for the past 22 years which prevented football in Somalia from collapsing.

“On behalf of Djibouti FA, I praise the current Somali Football Federation officials who are working harder amid sadness over the death of former president Said Mahmoud Nur who lent a forceful commitment to the promotion of Somali footbal,l” said Fadoul who was described by the SFF officials as another leader of Somali Football Federation.

Fadoul announced the closure of the course which was conducted by Ghanaian instructor Joseph Wellington assisted by Tunisian fitness instructor Boubakar Hanash.

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Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar is the NewsBlaze Somalia reporter. Shafi’i has extensive experience in journalism, international relations, and football management. He is the founder of Somali Sports Press Association, a long-time sports journalist and a member of the International Sports Press Association.

Shafi’i has a Master’s Degree in international Relations obtained at De Montfort University in Leicester and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Multimedia journalism from the University of Northampton. The photo shows Shafi’i in action while at CAF Centre of Excellence in Cameroon.