EA National Cup & IMG Boys Showcase

The IMG Showcase is one of America’s leading youth football tournaments. A showcase is a tournament where the best players around the country come to show their abilities to selected college coaches.

Played at one of America’s best sports complexes, the IMG Academy in Bradenton, for the first time ever it will be played concurrently with the EA National Cup, another top level tournament which brings together the top MLS Next clubs to crown a national champions in the boys U16, U17 and U19 age divisions.

This is a great opportunity to visit America while refereeing in one of the country’s highest level events.

The tournament is perfect in combination with the IMG International Girls Cup and Girls Academy Champions League.

This Referee Abroad American Experience includes:

– Refereeing at 2 of the leading tournaments in the country
– Hotel accommodation at both (in a villa near the fields)

Referee should:
– Be over the age of the 18 at the time the tournaments take place
– Have a minimum refereeing experience of 2 years
– Be from a country that does not need official invitation to get a VISA to enter the United States, as this can’t be arranged at the present time due to short notice

All referees selected for the events will be entitled to, during the tournaments:

– limited free food at hotels and/or fields (dinner not included)
– 3/5 games per day during tournament days
– A travel reimbursement (around 300 dollars – amount of will be confirmed at a later date)

What’s not included?
– Travel costs to/from tournament (flight tickets and transport to tournament)
– VISA fee, if applicable
– Rental car

Please notice that each selected referee will need to submit the following documents in order to be officially accepted for the event:

– Copy of passport and VISA (if applicable);
– Copy of referee card/licence;
– Letter from home federation granting permission to referee and summary of referee experience;
– Official USSF application to referee in the USA (this will be sent to you to submit);
– Proof of background check;
– Safesport training certificate (an access code to take the test will be sent to you).

Until all paperwork is approved your participation will not be officially confirmed. We will not be able to sponsor VISAs for referees whose nationalities require an official invitation to attend.

All referees will be accommodated in a fully serviced Villa only a few minutes away from the fields at IMG Academy.

Referees can travel to one of Florida’s international airports in order to reach Bradenton/Sarasota.

We suggest referees to fly into either Orlando or Miami.

Travel should be coordinated with the Referee Abroad representative attending the tournament.

Tournaments take place in one of Florida’s most iconic cities: Bradenton/Sarasota.

It’s warm all year round so what a chance to get away from the winter cold!

Sarasota is a popular city on the Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida and the county seat of Sarasota County. It is known for its vibrant arts community, excellent restaurants, unique shopping, and beautiful beaches. Sarasota, although a mid-sized city, is considered to be the cultural center of West Central Florida. The city has a metropolitan flavor unique to cities of its size and to cities in Florida.