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Montevideo hosted the third and final preparatory seminar for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ refereeing teams.
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Representatives from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL were seriously tested
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“Each of these referees is committed to being one of the best referees in the world”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ promises to be a championship of highlights. The recent play-off qualifiers in New Zealand highlighted once again the density and quality of women’s football emerging in all corners of the world.
While the players are gearing up 100% for the big quadrennial event next July, the umpiring teams (with female umpires, assistant umpires and video umpires of both genders) are reasonably working towards a similar goal.
To that end, Kari Seitz, President of FIFA Women’s Referees, is working tirelessly to ensure that the Australia and New Zealand 2023 referee teams are as well prepared as possible.
Another major milestone this week was the preparatory seminar for the 2023 Women’s World Cup refereeing teams of the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL confederations in Montevideo (Uruguay). Two similar events were recently organized for women referees and video assistant referees EuropeAnd that AFC, CAF and OFC.
The variety and depth of material presented at the four-day seminar in Montevideo was extraordinary. Fitness, theory, VAR and recovery are some of the best in-game and extra-game features.
A number of refereeing teams took part in the recent play-off qualifiers in New Zealand and are set to return to offshore lands in four months. This year’s championship will see a significant increase in travel times and therefore recovery times, adding an extra complication compared to France 2019.
“What we have is a slightly more complicated championship than in France,” Seitz admitted. “We have two countries, two continents, big time zone changes… but we are ready to deal with all of that; the referees are ready for that.
“The general opinion is the same; we continue to train referees in the same way, but we have to take time and make allowances for travel and time changes. Besides, we fully believe this will be the best World Cup in history,” he asserted.
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