Gladwyn Johnson will participate in the CONCACAF Targeted Advanced Referee Programme (TARP) scheduled for Dallas, Texas from May 11 – 14, 2017.
Johnson, who is a FIFA referee, will be Guyana’s representative and he will be among nine participating referees; four of which will be from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) region including Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Johnson, in an invited comment said: “It’s a blessing for me to be a part of this prestigious course and to be around all the top assessors, instructors and referees in CONCACAF. It’s always a great learning experience towards better thing to come. Upon my return, I will share the information acquired with my fellow referees so that our standard of refereeing i n Guyana would improve.”
The elite referee, who has been a referee for six years and is in his first year as a FIFA referee added that his participation in the TARP is a “great achievement” for him and is thankful to God, CONCACAF, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), his employers at the Guyana Sugar Corporation – GuySuCo (Blairmont Estate), his wife and family for the support provided.
“We have the potential here. Persons need to commit themselves to the programme, said Stanley Lancaster, Head of GFF’s Refereeing Department. “When given the opportunity, they need to showcase their skills and true potential so that they can be recognized because CONCACAF and FIFA are continuously looking for talent that the Caribbean possesses. Based on information received, they have seen that potential in Gladwyn, hence the reason for his selection,” Lancaster added.
Asked about the impact Johnson’s participation will have on the national programme, Lancaster said: “This will definitely be a boost to the local programme as it should serve as encouragement to other national referees. Gladwyn, in his first year as a FIFA referee as of January 2017, has already participated in three appointments and now is in this course – what we term as CONCACAF World Cup – the Gold Cup seminar, followed by the Gold Cup in June. So, it’s a plus for the local officials once they look at it in a positive way to see that this step can be accomplished by anyone.”
It requires commitment, adaptation to the training, reading, interpreting and applying the knowledge and maintaining a high level of fitness,” Lancaster added.
The course will focus on physical fitness testing, practical and technical training and classroom and field sessions, including video tests.
The physical fitness testing is a requirement for FIFA World Cup referee participation.
According to CONCACAF, the TARP will be conducted simultaneously with the CONCACAF 2017 Gold Cup Pre-Tournament Referees Course and though participants will most likely not be match officials of the named tournament, they will participate in the group phase of the tournament and serve as fourth officials and replacement referees as required.
