CONCACAF

August 6, 2002 Referees and assistant referees selected for CONCACAF (FC) Gold Cup to attend a seminar before the Tournament (Exact wording of Official release follows) It will be conducted by D.C. Emerson Mathurin, chairman of the Confederation's Referees Committee, and Carlos Ortiz, a member of the committee. Both are FIFA Referee Instructors, and will be assisted by members of the Confederation's Referees Committee. It will be geared toward female referees, as all 20 referees and assistants selected for the competition are women. The seminar will take the form of lecture presentations and viewing of videos, all significantly showing women's football, such as FIFA Women's World Cup 1999 and WUSA, the U.S. professional league. Topics to be covered include match preparation, specifically psychological and physical aspects from the female match official's viewpoint; focus on movement and positioning, and offside decision-making; evaluation of performance from the standpoint of the referee inspector; and special instructions for the referees prior to the beginning of the event. In addition, as usual, the entire team of referees will undergo fitness testing prior to the Women's Gold Cup as part of the seminar. In addition, arrangements are expected to be made for the match officials to engage in daily training sessions under the supervision of an expert in that field.