Archive for category: News

The 3rd edition of the Paris World Games is now just a little more than a month away and the tournament’s officials have now been selected.

For yet another year, we break a record in the number of countries represented by the referees.

156 referees will in fact be involved in this year’s event, coming from more than 30 different countries.

To you all, welcome to Paris! we look forward to working with you from July 7th to July 13th.

The Referees of the Paris World Games 2017 (opens in a new tab)

Alan Snoddy is one of the UEFA’s most well known and influential referee observers. A regular presence on the Champions League and Europa League, where he assesses the performance of officials the likes of Bjorn Kuipers and Nicola Rizzoli, is himself a former FIFA World Cup Referee.

We are happy to announce that Alan has accepted Tournaments Abroad’s invitation to attend this year’s Ibercup Costa del Sol in Marbella, Spain. He will be supporting the Referee Committee in evaluating the referees’ performance and deciding who deserved to be appointed to the finals.

Here’s a short CV of Mr Snoddy:

-  FIFA Referee from 1980 to 2000

- FIFA World Cup Referee at Mexico 1986 and Italy 1990

- Referee Observer for UEFA and FIFA in the Champions League and Europa League

- Former Referee Development Office of the Northern Irish FA

- Current President of the Referee Committee for the FA of Cyprus.

- UEFA Core coach.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Many of you are now familiar with Tournaments Abroad’s latest referee development project – The TA Referee Academy. A program thanks to which young and promising referees from all around Europe will be able to train, while refereeing international tournaments, with professional referees and coaches from UEFA, FIFA, and the Premier League and other top leagues.

You can read more about the “TA Referee Academy” here.

As the first year of this exciting program starts, we are already thinking about the selection of the referees for the 2nd edition of the TA Referee Academy, which will take place in 2018.

While the 40 referees (see who they are) for this year’s Academy were selected only based on their results in a number of tests, 50% of the places for next year’s Academy will be awarded to referees who participate in the “Pre-Academy Program in 2017″. But what exactly is the “Pre-Academy”?

What is the Pre-Academy

Referees who wish to sign up to the “Pre-Academy” will have to attend one of our tournaments as normal referees, just like any other. However, as they are “Pre-Academy” referees, they will be guaranteed more opportunities to show their qualities, they will be observed more often by our staff and, should they perform well, they might earn a direct invitation to next year’s Academy, without having to go through a selection process.

Where can Pre-Academy referees go to?

The only tournaments that will be awarded “Pre-Academy” places are the Paris World Cup and the Ibercup Estoril. Why? because those are the tournaments where our staff and observers will be more present. Sign up for one of these two tournaments if you’d like to become a “Pre-Academy” referee.

Is there a maximum number of Pre-Academy referees?

Yes, only 20 referees will be allowed to be included in the “Pre-Academy” at the Paris World Cup, and only 10 will be considered for the Ibercup Estoril.

How can I ask to be a “Pre-Academy” referee?

You only need to apply for one of our tournaments through this form. Once you are contacted by a member of our staff to confirm your participation, you should say you’d like to be a “Pre-Academy” referee.

Tournaments Abroad are happy to announce yet another exciting opportunity for our referees.

We have in fact reached an agreement with two of America’s top youth soccer tournaments which, starting from this year, will start accepting European referee at their events, carefully selected for by  Tournaments Abroad.

Both events take place in California in the month of July, a perfect opportunity for all officials interested in combining a great development opportunity with some holidays in what is one of the world’s top holiday destinations.

The first event takes place in Northern California, in the city of Davis which is about half way between the state’s capital of Sacramento and world-famous San Francisco. It’s organised over two week-ends,  a girls competition (played July 14th-17th), and a boys competition (played July 21st-24th).

The second event, which is one of the biggest in America, is played in the Southern Californian city of San Diego, home to some of the state’s finest beaches, and is also played over two week-ends, one for the competition in the older age brackets (July 28th-31st), and one for the junior (August 4th-7th).

Referees selected by Tournaments Abroad will receive:

- Free accommodation based on double occupancy on the tournaments weekends.

- Free breakfast and lunch on tournament days.

- A partial reinbursement for travel expenses, based on the number of games refereed.

- Free referee coaching during the events.

The only expenses for referees will be: – Travel to/from the United States. – Travel/health insurance. – Travel expenses for the days between the different tournaments. Each referee can choose whether to do one or more events. Interested, want to know more or apply? here’s how.

To apply, simply fill our the form available at this link; 

To know more you can contact Tournaments Abroad’s President Daniel Curcio, who is also responsible for the project. You can contact him on Facebook or write an email with the subject “California” to info@tournamentsabroad.com

It’s now OFFICIAL.

Tournaments Abroad will be heading to Japan next summer. European and American referees will have the opportunity of refereeing in yet a new edition of the Ibercup, the world’s most famous series of youth football tournaments.

The Ibercup Japan will take place in Gotenba, near Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, from August 22nd to August 26th. For this particular tournament we’re looking for up to 20 referees, all ages, nationalities and levels are welcome. As a referee you’ll be entitled to:

- Free accommodation in multiple rooms in a local hotel (likely to be Hotel Tokinosumika)

- Free food for the entire duration of the tournament (3 meals/day)

- Free local transport from accommodation to the venues and back.

- Free airport transfers to/from Tokyo airport (about 100 km away).

The only cost of referees will be travel (flights to/from Tokyo) and a small participation fee of €45 (or equivalent in £).

The tournament will see the participation of both Japanese and foreign referees and assessors. We expect a total of around 150 teams to take part for what will immediatly become one of Asia’s biggest youth football tournaments. Age categories will be Boys 11-13-14 and Girls 16.

Referees can expect to officiate 2-3 games per day, both as referees and assistant referees, and will also have some free time every day to visit Japan.

You can read more about Gotenba, the city where the tournament will take place, here.

INTERESTED? You can express your interest or apply by filling out the form you can find here.