The Ordinary General Assembly of the Albanian Football Referees Union is held

2026-02-18 18:32:00, Sport CNA

The Albanian Football Referees Union (BASHF) held its Ordinary General Assembly this Wednesday at the "House of Football" premises.

This Assembly was attended by the General Secretary of the Albanian Football Federation, Ilir Shulku, the Technical Director of the Albanian Football Federation, Fulvio Pea, the President of the Albanian Football Federation, Tahir Kastrati, the General Secretary of the Albanian Football Federation, Klajdi Kola, the members of the Albanian Football Federation's Executive Committee, Idriz Gashi, Ervis Peza, Dritan Salaj and Sokol Avdo, and the delegates mandated by the referee collegiums throughout the country.

The President of BASHF, Tahir Kastrati, said that the main focus has been the greatest possible involvement of young people in the world of refereeing and added that in this regard, good work has been done through the campaigns undertaken, such as "Become an Arbiter", but maintaining them remains a challenge.

"For several years, the Arbitration Academy has been organized and operating, with the direct initiative of the President of the Albanian Football Association. In this edition, the Federation, in cooperation with the Association, the Arbitration Committee, continued the "Become an Arbiter" campaign, which, through promotional videos in stadiums, social networks and media, has managed to recruit 90 new arbitrators, who are currently in the second phase of the Academy course. Our biggest challenge for the future remains the retention of these arbitrators and the increase in competition and quality through them."

President Kastrati also praised the “Talent & Mentor” project and the support of the Albanian Football Association throughout this year. “Good work has also been done in the education of prospective referees, where we are in the second year of the “Talent & Mentor” project, led by mentors Jareci, Kola, Meta, Janku, Rexha and Çokaj, but here too concrete results must be achieved and the number of referees must increase.

The Albanian Football Association remains the main sponsor of our Association, supporting: financing seminars twice a year, financing the material base for all referees, including the Refereeing Academy, and financing the remuneration of referees of all categories and the VAR system.

The head of BASHF also highlighted the increase in the number of female referees and the increase in the number of referees and assistants in the international arena.

"Another positive element is the number of female referees, who have professionally officiated matches at the highest levels, including the Abissnet Superiore. We currently have two trios of referees with the FIFA emblem, who represent us worthily in the international arena."

This year, Albanian refereeing will be represented in the international arena by 21 referees and assistants, with this number constantly increasing. An important development is the addition of Mr. Albano Stolaj as a FIFA referee for futsal.

The Referees Association, in collaboration with the Arbitration Sector, has successfully covered all sporting activities in the country, from the highest levels to youth, amateur football, girls' football and alternative forms of the game.

The assembly then continued with the agenda, where two important decisions were made. The financial statements for 2025 and the budget for 2026 were approved by vote.

Before the closing of the works, three observers, Gëzim Gaci, Krenar Braja and Emil Kalimeri, who retired from sports competitions in 2025, were honored with a plaque of gratitude.