Referee Joseph O. Lamptey has been selected by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) to participate in a one week Advanced Course for Elite and Premier League Referees in Rome, Italy. The course, which is being organised by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) will commence on February 4 and end on February 9, will be attended by 54 referees across the globe. Referee Lamptey left Ghana on Sunday, February 4 and is expected back a day after the programme. The Ghanaian will be joined by his Malian colleague Coulibaly Koman as the two African representatives to participate in the course, which will be attended by other high profile referees such as Michel Lubos of Slovakia, Manual Gonzales of Spain and Micheal Rully of England. The selection and invitation of the two was based on their performance over the past years following the successful officiating by the two referees in series of Inter Club Championships. UEFA according to information gathered by the GNA Sports will cater for the airfare and lodging of the referees with the Italian Football Federation providing the expenditure for internal transportation. The course is aimed at providing young and upcoming referees with the needed exposure and experience for the future by updating their knowledge on the current trends of the game. Speaking to the GNA Sports before his departure, referee Lamptey said the course provides him with a great opportunity to update his knowledge on the game as well as enable him to interact with more experienced referees on the globe. Referee Lamptey was of the view that the course will afford him the platform to improve upon his performance and lift the image of refereeing in the country. The referee who works with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) said he hopes to share the knowledge gained from the course with his other colleague referees on his return. Referee Lamptey has so far officiated in some Premier league matches and was last week among the referees who handled some of the CAF Inter-Clubs Championship. He was in the middle of action when Sahel FC of Niger hosted Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso in the Confederation Cup Competitions. GNA