FIFA, determined that the refereeing at the 2006 World Cup finals will be the best ever, are launching an 18-month campaign to ensure the world's top referees are fully prepared for the finals in Germany.

The Referees' Project will begin early next year "to produce consistent world-class performances in all the matches of FIFA's flagship event," the world governing body said in a statement on Wednesday.

The programme will start early next year with the announcement of the 46 candidates who will compete for the final 30 positions in Germany.

The selected candidates will come together for preparatory meetings early next year. These will include theoretical and practical training sessions designed "to set the bar as high as possible for 2006", according to FIFA.

The candidates will also be assessed during 2005 in various FIFA competitions and will be observed throughout the project to assess their performances at international and domestic level.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: "This unique programme will help us identify, train and prepare match officials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup so that we have nothing but the best referees on the pitch."

There was widespread criticism of referees and linesmen at the 1998 World Cup and although officiating in 2002 was much improved there were still some highly controversial calls, which cost teams crucial goals.

In their official report of the 2002 finals FIFA rated the overall performance of the referees and linesmen as "good".

Summing up the finals FIFA said: "Like the top players, referees also fall victim to intense media coverage highlighting the negative, and overlooking the many positives in the refereeing performances. So it has been and so it will always be."

But if their new initiative works, FIFA will be hoping there will be far fewer negatives for the media to highlight in 2006.