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The FIFA U-17 World Cup is about to kick off on the 6th of October, and the event is about to set a number of records. The first record is obvious, that it's the first time that India is hosting any FIFA tournament, let alone U-17 World Cup. This fact has been out there for a while, so you must be aware of it unless you're living under a rock.
The second thing that is going to happen for the first time, is that there are going to be, for the very first time, female support referees in a men's tournament. Yes, you heard it right. It is indeed, a record-setting development, and could have larger consequences for the future of all football tournaments.
The FIFA Referees Committee had appointed 21 trios of match officials, in August earlier this year, representing all six confederations, i.e., AFC, CONCACAF, UEFA, etc. FIFA has an old reputation of having on-point match officiating, and this time around, they just went a step ahead by including 7 women support referees, for the first time ever in a men's tournament.
While the U-17 India World Cup is going to be a huge step ahead, for the Indians, the tournament also brings huge opportunities for the officiating team to showcase their qualities. FIFA's Head of Refereeing, Massimo Busacca went on record, and said, "We think it's time for elite female referees to be involved in a FIFA men's competition. They worked together with male match officials last year and now we want to see them working together in a competition."
#1 Ri Hyang Ok
Ri Hyang Ok is a North Korean former women's football midfielder, who later went on to be a football referee. She was a member of the North Korea women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Now, she will be seen assisting the referees in the Indian U-17 World Cup.
#2 Gladys Lengwe
Gladys is a Zambian national and a football referee. She has been running international games since 2002, and took part in the Junior U-17 Women's World Cup, in 2014. She also officiated a couple of matches in the 2014 Women's World Cup. After that, she went on to officiate more tournaments and proved to be effective in what she did, and as a result, she was nominated as one of three African referees for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Now Gladys will be flying to India, to officiate the junior all men's tournament.
#3 Carol Anne Chenard
Carol Anne Chenard has been an international referee since 2006. She was one of the referees selected for the World Cup Women's football in 2011. In addition, Chenard was one of only three Canadians to be on the FIFA international referees list for women's soccer games. She received her accreditation as an 'international' referee in 2006.
In Canada, she referees both men's matches (NASL) and women's matches (W-League). She is the only woman in North America who practices chief refereeing in men's first division matches, and now she will be doing it for India U-17.
Chenard was named female referee of the year in the CONCACAF Awards, announced in January, 2017. She has had sufficient experience, and already looks equipped for the 2017 junior men's tournament.
#4 Claudia Umpierrez
While many would dream of playing the game, Claudia Umpierrez chose instead, to pursue a career in refereeing. She made history in the field of officiating, on 5 March, 2016, by becoming the first woman to take charge of a men’s professional football match in her country, in Uruguay's second division football.
Claudia Umpierrez's grandfather and aunt, both went into refereeing, and she had an uncle who played the game professionally, and her father is a coach. It is no surprise that football has come to occupy a central part in her life, and it is comforting to know that such dedicated referees are going to be a part of the mega-event.
#5 Anna-Marie Keighley
She got to know football in high school, and then stayed in the career as a dormitory teacher. Anna-Marie got the certification to be a referee in 2007 by the New Zealand Football Associaiton. In the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, she played an outstanding role as a referee. As a result, she will be officiating as an assistant referee in the U-17 India World Cup.
#6 Kateryna Monzul
Kateryna is a Ukrainian football referee. She took charge of her first international match in September 2005, in Finland versus Poland. Later on, she refereed the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League. In 2014, Kateryna was voted second in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) World's Best Woman Referee.
#7 Esther Staubli
Staubli is a Swiss football referee, and she has been in the FIFA International Referees list since 2006. She was selected to referee the 2015 UEFA Women's Champions League, and she also served as a referee for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada. In 2014, she was voted fourth in the IFFHS World's Best Woman Referee. Esther is the last woman to make the revered woman referee list.
