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The FIFA Referees Committee, meeting in Zurich on Tuesday, 14 January under the chairmanship of Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland), has appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 different countries for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
FIFA has implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure that the referees for its flagship competition are in peak condition come June 12.
Just as it did for the 32 participating teams, the road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ began for an initial group of 52 trios of referees from all over the world in September 2011 when FIFA took the important decision to create a refereeing project. One of the key objectives was match control and consequently to prepare this group of prospective referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. The referees selected for the World Cup in Brazil have been chosen based especially on their personality and their quality in football understanding by being able to read the game and the teams’ tactical approaches towards each game.
Between now and the World Cup in the summer, the selected group of match officials will participate in three seminars: February, March/April, and the last one ten days before the kick-off of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.
The selected referees and assistant referees will be followed and monitored regularly during this period, and FIFA is ready to give them all the support they need so that they can prepare for this important World Cup in the best possible manner.
