Meridian bonus for Referees

By Andrew Haslam in Kusadasi

The officiating duties at the 2005 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup have been divided equally between UEFA and CAF, with each confederation providing four referees and four assistant referees for the tournament. uefa.com spoke to Gambian referee Sowe Modou and Kenneth Chichenga, an assistant referee from Zambia, and asked them for their views on the tournament and how they feel it can benefit their future careers.

uefa.com: Are you enjoying the tournament so far?

Sowe Modou: Of course, the way the tournament is being run is impeccable and I am learning a lot here. The matches I have taken charge of have gone well too, which is always important.

Kenneth Chichenga: I am enjoying every moment. It is a very good experience for me. The games have been good, and the official procedures, the preparation we do before a game and the debriefings we have afterwards, are really useful. Also, the interaction between the boys from Europe and Africa is really nice and good to see. It is a very friendly tournament, which makes our life a lot easier.

uefa.com: What are you learning here?

Chichenga: An awful lot, in terms of the interaction between the European and African officials. We can bring our knowledge from Africa and absorb what they have to teach us here in Europe, and cement them together. In refereeing terms, there is no real difference between us from Africa and the Europeans - we conform to exactly the same standards.

uefa.com: Has anything particularly impressed you about this tournament?

Chichenga: All aspects, to be honest. Organisation, programming, planning - it has all been perfect. Nothing is overlooked, we are constantly moving forward. We have debriefings every day, both before and after games, which are very useful as we are constantly trying to perfect our performances.

uefa.com: How were you selected for this tournament?

Modou: I was at the [UEFA] European Under-17 Championship in France last year, where UEFA were impressed with my performances, so they selected me again for this tournament. But I am enjoying this more for a number of reasons; I am a little more confident, and I am finding this tournament more competitive. Here the players are a little older, which gives the game more of a competitive edge and means it more closely resembles senior football. I am currently preparing for the 2006 [FIFA] World Cup, where I hope to referee - I am going to Frankfurt for an initial meeting with FIFA on 11 February - so this tournament is very good preparation for me.

Chichenga: I worked at the [CAF] African Under-17 Championship in Swaziland two years ago, and then we also have our regional tournaments - in my case, in southern Africa, which are known as the COSAFA games. It is a gradual progression; due to my performances at those tournaments, I was selected for this event, and I hope that my performances here will win me other appointments in the future.

uefa.com: So what are your future targets?

Modou: We are all always seeking ways in which we can improve, and the information that UEFA and CAF provide us with is very useful in that respect. I hope to win a place in the 2006 World Cup refereeing list, and obviously I would love to take charge of the final.

Chichenga: In the near future, if they can bring African refereeing on to a professional level, that would make it more competitive and improve the standard. That would also give Africans more chances to officiate in UEFA and FIFA competitions.