Official wants Kenyan referees on Fifa list

By Gilbert Wandera

Kenya will get more women slots on Fifa referees’ list next year.

Visiting Fifa referees’ instructor, Carlos Henrique, said he was impressed by the high standards shown by women referees and will lobby for more slots for women.

Henrique was speaking at Nyayo National Stadium yesterday after conducting a Fifa Cooper Test in which majority of participants passed.

Kenya currently has only one woman centre Fifa referee, Damaris Kimani, who has of late been handling high profile local matches.

Carlos Henriques (left) with trainee referees at the Nyayo National Stadium, Thursday. [PHOTO: ROBIN TOSKIN/STANDARD]

Said the Fifa instructor:""It is not fair that Kenya has only one woman referee in Fifa list considering the high standards exhibited here today. I will lobby to have more of them next year.""

He also praised the high standards of officiating in Kenya over the last one year.

"I am amazed by the vast improvement that referees have shown. There has been a lot of change since I started coming here to conduct these tests," he said.

Despite a stand-off between the Kenya Premier League (KPL) and Football Kenya referees committee chairman, Mohammed Aziz, the Cooper Test went on well. Aziz barred four referees recommended by KPL to undertake the test, insisting that they were not qualified, a claim denied by the league company’s Managing Director Jack Oguda.

Among those barred from the test were Isaac Ochieng’, Steven Oduor, Dorcas Wanza and Kennedy Kiema.

Said Aziz: "These referees did not qualify for this test and that is why I didn’t allow them to participate."

But Oguda insisted the four should have been allowed as they met the criteria required by the world body Fifa.

"We are baffled that they were turned away. There was no reason to do that as KPL ensured that they had the necessary experience and were within the required age," said Oguda.

Fifa referees Alfred Ndinya and Margaret Omondi will repeat the test next week.

Ndinya did not complete it yesterday after developing a muscle crump on his first attempt. He will travel to South Africa on September 22 for a similar test so he can take part in next month’s World Cup qualifying matches.

Omondi, on her part, will do her repeat test in Malawi as he prepares for various up-coming international matches later in the year.