Singapore Sports Council, Monday, April 6, 2009 – The Singapore Sports Council will launch a Junior Technical Officiating programme to expand the supply of young officials. This programme is an alternate pathway for those who want to be part of the sports industry but who aren’t athletes or coaches.

Targeted at youth aged 15 to 18 years of age, the pilot project will start with an initial enrolment of 200 young teens. The programme with focus initially on seven popular sports – basketball, badminton, netball, football, hockey, volleyball and table tennis.

“In Australia and Japan, there are officials as young as 12 years old officiating key sporting events, like Under-13 and Under-16 soccer games,” said Shamsul Maidin, who refereed at the 2006 World Cup. “Former FIFA referee Mark Shield from Australia started refereeing at the age of 12 and officiated two World Cup tournaments before the age of 32.

“These examples show that matured countries like Australia and Japan are focusing on developing young officials along with developing athletes and coaches. Thus, this collaboration between SSC and CCAB is a great move as it not only it expands the base of quality young officials, but it also gives the youth an alternative access to be part of the game.”

SSC will work with the Co-Currcular Activities Branch (CCAB) of the Ministry of Education and the national sports associations on this project.

For more information, contact ssc_sportsofficials@ssc.gov.sg