Dozens of Somali Football referees including national and international levels have on Friday arrived in Djibouti for five day FIFA MA refereeing course. The referees were received at Djibouti's Ambouli international airport by SFF secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab who has been in the city earlier to arrange their accommodation and local transports.

FIFA instructors have also arrived in Djibouti on Friday and were received at the airport by high profile officials from Somali and Djibouti football federations and were then accommodated at Sheraton hotel in Djibouti.

The FIFA instructors who will be conducting the Somali course are: referee instructor Lim Kee Chong assisted by Fitness instructor Boubakar Hanashi, while FIFA referee development officer Ahmed El Shenawi will be administering the 5-day MA refereeing course for Somalia.

However the 28 referees are accommodated at Dar Es Salaam hotel in the city centre, according to a press statement by Somali Football Federation secretary Genetral Abdi Qani Said Arab. "The hotel is about one mile away from national technical centre where the training will be taking place and we have already arranged enough transportation” Somali Football Federation Secretary General Abdi Qani Said Arab said in his press statement Friday.

The course is slated for 3-7 March, while the referees will return to Somalia on Friday next week according to the schedules of the training. Somalia never misses its annual FIFA MA course.

The referees are from south-central Somalia and as well as from the regional states of Gal-Mudug, Puntland and the breakaway Somaliland. "Our policy is to spread the knowledge of football across the country and that is why we have referees from all regions here today as we did in the past” secretary general Abdi Qani Said Arab noted in his press statement Friday.

Somali Football Federation Media department

Email:somalifootballmedia@gmail.com