Football Queensland (FQ) hosted a first of its kind referee course to support match officials to make the transition into futsal officiating over the weekend. 

20 football referees were in attendance for the single-day course at Mt Maria College on Sunday, 29 November, which was designed to enable registered outdoor referees to gain the knowledge and qualifications to apply their skills to futsal. 

“The referee course delivered over the weekend was an innovative way to support a group of match officials to broaden their skillset and pursue a new pathway with an introduction to the futsal Laws of the Game,” FQ State Referee Manager Jacqui Hurford said. 

“Football Queensland developed this concept for our referees after discovering that the existing two-day futsal referee course model was prohibitive for some match officials. 

“This provided an opportunity for us to get creative and come up with a new form of futsal referee course for existing match officials, created in collaboration with established referees Dion Bradley, Zac Keenan and other members of the Futsal Referee Working Group. 

“Dion and Zac also delivered the course on Sunday, which was attended by 20 match officials from across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. 

“Members of the Football Queensland referee department were also in attendance alongside a number of experienced referees assessors and instructors who will help to develop these match officials as they transition into refereeing futsal. 

“After a successful course over the weekend, we’re excited to continue providing more opportunities for our outdoor referees to gain experience in futsal to support the growth of the sport. 

“For this reason, Football Queensland has recently released a Futsal Referee Information Pack to provide new and existing outdoor referees with information on the benefits of refereeing futsal, and we encourage any match official interested in broadening their skillset to register for an upcoming Futsal Referee Course.”

The next Futsal Conversion Course will be held in Brisbane in February 2021 for existing outdoor referees, while a Futsal Referee Course will also be held on the same weekend.

Register for an upcoming Futsal Referee Course.

Images: Catherine Marsh