A 16-year-old boy from Kibendo Junior Secondary School is among a cohort of 46 football referees currently undergoing a four-day intensive training by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
FKF Elgeyo Marakwet Branch Vice Chairperson Dominic Otieno highly praised Ezra Kipruto, the grade nine (9) student whom he discovered on social media and contacted for training, saying he has shown exceptional passion for football.
Kipruto, Otieno noted, will be instrumental in officiating Under-15 matches.
Otieno said FKF had bought all the referee kits for the young referee in addition to paying for his training.
“At 16 he has started off very well, and with continuous training he may eventually become the first referee from the county to wear the prestigious international FIFA badge,” he said.
Speaking during the training session, which ends tomorrow, Friday, Otieno expressed his gratitude to all the participants who made personal sacrifices to attend, saying at least all the wards in the county were represented, especially Endo Ward, which has been lacking referees but had sent seven people to the training.
“However, we regret that Sengwer and Chepkorio wards failed to send a single representative to the program,” the Vice Chairperson regretted
Despite holding these critical training sessions twice a year to boost local numbers, Otieno said, the county still faces a severe shortage of match officials, saying upon graduation, this current cohort will bring the total number of qualified referees in the county to 210.
Otieno stressed that the number remained inadequate to support the massive explosion of grassroots football in the region, citing the previous Gavana wa Raia tournament, where 540 teams registered, forcing the branch to get external referees from neighboring Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, and Baringo counties.
He said with registration for the upcoming tournament surging to 700 teams, the county will once again be forced to source referees from outside and appealed to residents to join future training programs to minimize reliance on external personnel.
The Vice Chair said when the current leadership took office, the county had only six active referees, but the number is increasing, noting that they even have 10 female referees.
He noted that many women historically avoided the profession due to the fear of harassment, emphasizing that officiating matches demands immense mental toughness to handle hostile fans and teams.
Otieno said to fulfill their campaign promise of ensuring that the county has at least 300 trained referees by 2028, the branch is highly subsidizing the fee, saying they are charging Sh. 3,500 only.
He added that FKF was fully sponsoring seven passionate but financially underprivileged trainees, including the 16-year-old student.
The Vice Chair said the current program has also attracted 17 teachers, but while welcoming them, he expressed regret that most teachers attend solely to obtain certificates for officiating school games, rather than community matches.
“As a result, while we have trained 46 referees, we cannot count on the 17 teachers to handle the local leagues,” he said.
By Alice Wanjiru
