Mr. Alexander Kotey, Referees Manager of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), has emphasised the need for firmness and unity in the development of quality referees.

After his appointment as Referees Manager by the Executive Council of the GFA early this week, Mr. Kotey had been tasked to develop referees subject to guidelines approved by the Referees Committee.

In an interview with GNA Sports, the retired referee said it would be important to introduce new developmental programmes to meet standards set by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

"Referees Association of Ghana has been developing referees over the past years and it is the same instructors that take referees through various developmental programs and that is not going to change.

"The only thing we would add up is to be firm and united so that we can unearth good talents regardless of where you come from thus giving every referee a fair opportunity to work.

"So developing referees is not only about the instructors and referee manager, but the willingness and the commitment of the referee," he said.

He added that the referee’s body would conduct periodic tests either monthly or quarterly for referees to get conversant with the laws of the game.

"Another vital aspect we are going to pay attention to is the fitness of the referees which includes putting in place rigorous medical screening for our referees to meet FIFA and CAF standards,’’ he added.

When asked about how this development programme would be funded, Mr. Kotey said, “Adequate funding as we know enhances development and we need to invest in refereeing to get that quality we want.

"As the GFA has started putting up refereeing structures, we hope to access every source of funding including the FIFA Forward programme targeted at referees development," he added.