AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation, in collaboration with RFYS, conducted a technical preparation programme for match officials in the Indian Women’s League 2023-24 at the JIO Institute in Mumbai, from December 4 to 5.

The match officials of the IWL undertook a dedicated and focussed pre-season training programme, designed to enhance the performance standards and consistency, with AIFF Chief Refereeing Officer Trevor Kettle leading the sessions.

Several ‘focus areas’ were delved into in detail by the match officials, which included enhanced fitness standards, correct recognition of serious foul and reckless play, penalty area incidents, effective game management, judging difficult offside calls, and strong actions for poor participant behaviour.

AIFF Acting Secretary General Mr. Satyanarayan M said, “Refereeing is an integral part of the game, and we, at the AIFF, are making all efforts to enhance the performance of the match officials across all levels. The technical programme that the match officials in the IWL undertook is aimed at doing just that, and we hope that they will be in a better position to take on the challenges in this new version of the top-tier women’s league henceforth.”

The AIFF CRO said, “With the continued growth of the IWL’s profile, we are set to have an extremely competitive season ahead. The pressures and demands on the match officials have increased, and therefore, continual technical training must be undertaken throughout the season for better preparedness. The match officials are all highly motivated, and are looking forward to the IWL season to kick off.”