Portugal's referee academy opens

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has opened a new referee academy aimed at providing young match officials with the requisite coaching and support to achieve higher standards of excellence.

The academy was officially open for business on 13 April and operates under the leadership of the chairman of the FPF referee council, Vítor Pereira. Designed for football, beach soccer and futsal referees and observers, the academy fully respects the UEFA Convention on Referee Education and Organisation and will deliver more focused instructional programmes, new learning modules and more on-the-field work.

There will be three levels of coaching – beginners, advanced and elite – and the number of learning and training hours will double and triple in some cases. An elite referee, for instance, will complete a total of 860 hours.

Additionally, the academy will supplement the referee recruitment process with technical and mentoring programmes and seminars. Fernando Gomes, FPF president, highlighted the federation's efforts "to raise standards among referees and observers", promising that the academy "will encourage all those involved in the sector to aim towards higher objectives in the years to come".