Around 20 referees from eight countries will work at the Gothia Cup Cancún
Referees from eight countries will be refereeing the games at the Gothia Cup in Cancún.
There will be around 20 referees at the Gothia Cup in Cancún in January. Referees will travel from Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Netherlands, Romania and USA and there will also be some local referees from Mexico.
Daniele Curcio from Italy is in charge of the referees at the tournament.
– I will be the Referee Coordinator/Director of this event. I'm excited because it's my second experience with the Gothia Cup in this role, but in a very different country. I've been in charge of referees at the Gothia Cup China before for three years before covid, and we achieved great results there. We’re looking forward to doing the same in Mexico. Since I’m also fluent in Spanish, and I will be assisted by some staff who also are, we’re sure we will deliver on the expectations of all participants, says Daniele Curcio.
He’s happy with the number of referees. He will help them to arrive in Mexico and give them the best possible conditions.
– We will coordinate travel arrangement with referees so that we can spend as much time as possible together. While each referee will book his or her own flights, we will assist them all the way, he says.
What are your goals for the Gothia Cup in Cancun from a referee perspective?
– The Gothia Cup is the world's most important youth tournament and we want to make sure also the referee group can be considered the best. Thanks to our network Referee Abroad we have been able to work at the Gothia Cup both in China and Sweden, and these tournaments proved to be great development opportunities for our referees. We are determined to make sure Mexico will be yet another one, says Daniele Curcio.
He continues:
– We also want teams, coaches and the public to know that by coming to the Gothia Cup, they will attend a tournament where refereeing is a priority and where they will find not only international referees but some of the brightest prospects from around the world. We also want to contribute to the growth of the Gothia Cup both in Mexico and elsewhere. We will be supporting the tournaments for many years to come and grow alongside it, says the Referee Director.
Their organization, Referee Abroad, is the world's biggest refereeing network and every year sends 1000 referees from 60+ countries to 40 international tournaments around the world.
– The Gothia Cup is one of our most important partners, says Daniele Curcio.
