The Catch Them Young Referees at the ongoing KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship took part in a medical seminar on Wednesday August 7, 2024 at Prampram.
Ghana Football Association (GFA) and Confederation of African Football (CAF) Medical Officer, Dr Christiana Baah, supervised the guidance and counselling session for participants focused on their wellbeing and response mechanism to emergencies.
Topics discussed at the GFA technical centre, Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence on Wednesday included Concussion, Acute Anaphylaxis, Acute chest pain, Heat stroke, Dental Injuries, Dislocations, Cardiac attack amongst others.
The 30 participants also benefited from a practical session, aimed at equipping the young officials with basic knowledge on emergencies, further strengthening the importance the GFA attaches to the medical aspect of the game.
"The Catch Them Young policy, which is fast gaining grounds with so many successes attained so far, is a project which has been designed to prepare the youth of today for tomorrow's challenges," Dr Christiana Baah told ghanafa.org
"In recent times, there has been a surge in the number of football recorded emergencies on and off the field owing to the growing intensity and vigilance of the actors in football. According to Lancet (a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal), more than 100,000 lives can be saved if more people learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – beginning with school children.
"To this effect, therefore, we thought it wise to educate the young Referees who share the field with the players to understand the reasons, needs and intricacies involved in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in our quest to minimize these emergencies and preserve lives." she concluded.
The GFA/CAF Medical Officer has received enormous support from the medical staff, working to protect and preserve lives at the talent identification Championship.
Physiotherapists Mavis Adjeley Agoe, Afia Gyamfuah Peprah Ampomah, Henry Bart-Plange and Philemon Baah have been providing pivotal medical support at the Championship, working hand-in-hand with the celebrated medical practitioner.
The 2024 KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship will be concluded on Thursday August 8, 2024, with Northern Region and Volta Region battling each other in the third-place match.
The Eastern and Western Regions will clash in the Final in a match of epic proportions at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence to determine the winner of the Championship, primarily focused on identifying, training and developing young talents for the national youth teams.
GFA Communications