GFA ExeCo introduces new refereeing structure.

The Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Executive Council has approved a new refereeing structure for the local football governing body.

The new structure includes a Referees Committee, Match Review Panel, Assessors and Classification Panel, and the Refereeing Department. With different personnel performing different roles on each sub-committee, the GFA hopes response to complaints by clubs will be dealt with in a timely and exhaustive manner.

The Referees Committee will be allowed to continue its work of appointing referees to all competitions and all matches organized or sanctioned by the GFA including Futsal and Beach Soccer matches.

The Assessors and Classification Panel will be tasked with analyzing, evaluating, and assessing the performance of referees by using a marking system provided by FIFA to classify and categorize referees. The same system will be used by the Referees Committee, in promoting and demoting referees.

The Refereeing Department will be headed by the Referees Manager and will be tasked with the responsibility of providing administrative support and assistance to the Referees Committee. The ‘Referees Manager’ will, according to GFA, report to the General Secretary of the Association.

The Refereeing Department will also have its own Instructors (Physical Instructors and Technical Instructors) and other experts ostensibly to educate referees in Ghana.

The GFA hopes the new structure will consolidate already existing measures, introduced to improve refereeing standards in the country.