Sar Smith has taken the first step towards his goal of becoming a Fifa referee after completing a crucial training course in St Kitts.

The 18-year-old Bermuda College student took advantage of the opportunity to enhance his skills at the Caribbean Football Union Next Generation Referee Course, which concluded on Sunday.

Established in 2022, the course aims to strengthen referee development across the Caribbean and targets high-performing match officials within CFU member associations who meet the prerequisites for progression to the Fifa International Referees List.

The three-day course consists of comprehensive fitness and technical training and featured 24 match officials from 15 CFU member associations, including Bermuda.

Among those facilitating the course were Fifa Fitness Refereeing Instructor Kelesha Antoine, Fifa Technical Instructor Dianne Ferreira-James, Concacaf Technical Instructor Ishan Philip and Concacaf Fitness Instructor Rohan Thobourn.

Smith learnt a lot over the three days and hopes he is on the right path to becoming on of the region’s best referee.

“The course was very beneficial for me as I had certain things I was questioning or was on the fence about, which the instructors clarified in a simplified way so it was just easier to understand,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“It was three days of intense field work and classroom sessions. We’d either have a classroom session in the morning or evening and then vice versa have fitness in the morning or evening.

“I fitted in perfectly and I performed quite well, although I feel I can improve on a lot of things next time.

“They gave me a lot of help in certain areas, such as positioning on the field of play, decision making and new laws. I can improve in those areas and take my refereeing game to the next level.

“A lot of people come from different areas of the world want to do exactly what I do and want to go places that I want to go so I have to work harder than them towards that goal.”

Smith is starting his career at an opportune time with Crenstant Williams, chairman of the Bermuda Football Association Referee Committee, recently unveiling a three-year plan aimed at taking Bermudian officials to some of the world’s biggest tournaments.

Smith, the youngest participant on the St Kitts course and the only one from outside the Caribbean, is thankful to all those who have supported him towards his ultimate goal of becoming a Fifa-certified referee.

“I would like to thank Mr Williams for pushing me and giving me guidance and all the instructors back home that have helped me along the way to attend this course and hopefully I can do bigger and better things in the future,” he said.

Smith hopes to join the likes of compatriots Amaury Majors, Stefan Maybury, Clinton Hayward and Natasha Trott who have been reappointed to Fifa’s International List this year.

Williams said Smith’s selection to attend the course is a “proud moment” for Bermuda football and the BFA’s referee development programme and hopes it “inspires” other young people to become match officials.

“At just 18, Sar has been exposed to an intense three-day seminar that challenged him both physically and mentally, and it provided an invaluable learning experience at a very important stage of his development,” he said.

“His inclusion reflects the progress we are making locally and shows that our referee programme in Bermuda is moving in the right direction. We are hopeful that next year even more Bermudian officials will be given similar opportunities and we would like to thank the BFA executive for their continued support of referee development.

“We also hope that Sar’s achievement will inspire more young people to take up officiating and see it as a pathway for growth and advancement within the game.”