The South African Football Association (SAFA) will continue its nationwide drive to enhance the level of officiating at junior and provincial leagues across the country.

Following the success of the referees development workshop held in the Northern Cape earlier this month, Mpumalanga is next on the map.

The province will host a two-day workshop for referees from all five regions within the province at Rob Ferreira School in White River, Nelspruit from 27-29 April 2014.

SAFA views the development of referees as critical in the development of football in the country as high-quality officiating plays an important role in improving the standard of football across all levels. These workshops are aimed at widening the pool of referees earmarked for promotion to the next level.

The course is set to kick-off with a series of fitness tests and will be followed by written examinations on laws of the game from levels 3, 4 and 5.

The course will be overseen by FIFA Physical Instructor, Khatija Bahdur and FIFA recognized instructors, Derrick Hensen and Happy Radebe.

Head of the SAFA Referees department, Lindile ‘Ace’ Kika said these courses would assist in the improvement of refereeing at regional level.

“We are focusing mainly on the young and promising referees. We need fresh blood that will come through the ranks because our main focus now is the development of young referees.

“We want to focus on referees that will officiate in our regional league as well as the Sasol league. Our main goal is improving the standard of officiating at the lower level and the Sasol League,” said Kika.