Project future

Local referees got into the limelight unfairly lately, due to an unfounded accusation from one parent. It’s a common complaint I hear curiously coming from those who aren’t familiar with the laws of the game.

Those who played the game before or know the rules focus on the errors and readily listen when given reasons for such. Unfortunately, not all parents are like them, hence you hear the general accusations of “paid refs” after a crucial call.

One of the accusations commonly thrown at the local association, which has been renamed the Central Visayas Regional Football Association, is that they don’t have a program for referees. They have actually.

Rodney Orale, the one in charge for referees, told me that four of them—Levie Sabella, Janry Acaso, Jasper Garraman, Dave Intong—are part of a Philippine Football Federation seminar called Project Future and if they pass the criteria, two of them may be sent for a Fifa seminar in Malaysia. Archie Reyes is also joining an instructor course later this year in Manila as part of the continuing program.

While planning for the SunStar Football Cup, Archie mentioned Acaso and Garraman as two of the most promising referees here in Cebu. One of the things that is hounding the referee program is that most of the young ones who get sent to seminars by the PFF eventually get employed after graduating from college and can no longer officiate full time.

Let’s face it, the only way that becoming a full-time official can be lucrative is if one becomes a Fifa referee and gets international assignments. This Project Future could change that.

I’ve also learned that Randy Estremos, the last Fifa referee we had from Cebu, is also returning home this December and wants to share what he has learned. He was based in Macau for a while, officiating in the pro league there, and he has also been to several Fifa events and seminars.

Randy’s wealth of knowledge, coupled with his willingness to share them, is going to be a huge boom to the local officiating community.

These two things mean the prospect of football officials in Cebu is bright. Not only is the association doing its best to get them the support they need, it has also protected them by providing standard rates for officiating and making sure the assignment is transparent. Referee assignment was such a testy topic before that it always led to conflicts.

That has been minimized right now.