Ghana's officiating depth boosted by latest IRL technical education visit

• IRL this year launched the most expansive investment into grassroots game development in its history
• The technical education project objective is to ensure that every IRL member nation is able to produce its own coaches and match officials, through accredited local educators
• The IRL's system focuses heavily on continuing technical development (“CATO”: Consolidate-Apply-Team-Organise) between courses, to ensure that acquired knowledge turns into maturing understanding of the game, higher technical standards and an authentically developed sport
• The project is underpinned by state of the art e-learning management systems and coaching resources

Rugby League Federation Ghana’s match official corps has been strengthened following a 10-day IRL technical deployment to support the West African nation.

International Rugby League match official tutor James Jones ran a series of workshops with 13 local officials, including three educator trainees, in Accra at the same time as Ghana’s men’s and women’s national teams were in action against the visiting Nigerians and ROOTS Rugby from the USA.

The deployment was a follow-up to a mission undertaken in January, when level 1 and level 2 courses were delivered, pioneering the newly designed IRL system that is now being implemented. The objective of this second trip was to oversee the professional development of the locals in line with the IRL’s CATO (level 1) and CATO+ (level 2) system.

RLFG general manager Jafaru Mustapha said: “Bringing James Jones to Ghana marks a major step forward for the development of rugby league in our country. The successful completion of this technical training will not only elevate the standards of our referees but also empower them with internationally recognised accreditation. When our officials grow, our entire game grows — and this investment in capacity building will strengthen the foundations of rugby league for years to come.”

Jones, who refereed the Ghana versus Nigeria men’s game, said: “The interaction with the Ghana officials was a real highlight. Their enthusiasm to learn, improve, and contribute to the growth of the game made every session meaningful. During the program, we had strong participation with many attendees engaging in the education workshops and gaining first-hand experience as touch judges and referees.”

In addition to the senior games, boys and girls school representative teams from the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions played, adding to the depth of opportunities for the officials to participate in what RLFG’s lead match official Marshall Nortey described as “the most intensive educator-led engagement ever conducted in Ghana".

“Our main focus in the workshops was building confidence and game management to assist the flow of the game,” added Jones. “Seeing them take the field with a smile on their faces, letting games flow and talking throughout to prevent penalties was a proud moment for all of us.”

Multiple additional missions to IRL member nations are currently being planned for 2026.