UEFA's third refereeing Seminar for Talents and Mentors gets under way in Nyon on Wednesday. Just as young footballers need the guidance of experienced 'elders', up-and-coming referees can also benefit from the words of wisdom of those who have travelled the same road before them – and the UEFA 'talents and mentors' programme is designed to make sure that promising refereeing 'rookies' are given the best possible help up the ladder.

Three-day seminar
The three-day seminar will be attended not only by those earmarked by UEFA as potential top referees of the future – the 'talents'- but also by their 'mentors' – a group of former top-level European referees who have been given the task of acting as father figures to two referees each.

Detecting talent
The programme has now been running for two years and its main aim is to ensure that refereeing talent throughout Europe is discovered, and that the referees in question are given the proper guidance in their subsequent careers. A total of 22 young referees and eleven 'mentors' will be involved in the programme in 2003/04.

Dedicated mentors
"We can say that the first two years of the programme have been a success," UEFA Referees Committee member Lars-Ake Björck told the recent UEFA referees' course in Corfu. "We have been able to find mentors who have been extremely dedicated, and who have taken great care of their specific referees. Some of the young referees have been ready for higher assignments after only one year.

Chemistry and co-operation
"We ask the mentors to be like second fathers to the young referees, who may often need someone to talk to not only about their progress as referees, but also about matters off the pitch. The relationship between the talent and the mentor has to be a very close one, based on confidence and trust. The chemistry and co-operation between the two has to be right, and we make every effort to ensure that this is the case.

Ideal position
"The mentors, who have built up considerable experience through their own refereeing careers, as well as through their work in referee education and training with their associations, are in an ideal position to give their young referees valuable advice and build up their self-confidence. They can talk not only about on-field issues such as positioning or interpretation of the laws, but also about diet, how the young referees should conduct themselves socially or privately, and how the referees should handle themselves on UEFA assignments."

Contact and analysis
There is constant contact and analysis as the mentors follow their young charges. The referees regularly provide their mentors with video recordings of their domestic matches. Mentors travel to their referees' countries to watch them in action and also receive regular reports from referee observers at UEFA matches. The UEFA Referees' Committee is obviously also given regular feedback on the referees' progress.

Maximum two years
In addition, mentors may invite their referees to their own countries to take part in refereeing events or courses, or even to take charge of certain matches, thus giving them the opportunity to gain experience in another environment. Over a maximum period of two years, the aim is to produce well-rounded and well-prepared match officials who are fully in tune with UEFA's requirements.

Best support
"The main purpose of the programme is to find the talented young referees in Europe and then to give them the best possible support," concluded Björck. "Of course it is not possible for everyone to make the top group of referees, but we want young referees to be able to reach their maximum level."