Namibian referee, Twanyanyukwa “D’Maria” Antsino is currently at the Maurice Revello Tournament in France. The tournament is an international youth football tournament held in France every year. This year the tournament will run from 3-16 June.
In 2022 the Maurice Revello Tournament – International Festival Espoirs was honoured to announce a unique collaboration with FIFA. That year, the competition paved way for women to officiate at the matches and showcase their talent and were selected to officiate at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
This collaboration continues to grow, and the 2024 Edition of the Maurice Revello Tournament is hosting 27 women referees from CAF, AFC, CONACAF, CONMEBOL and UEFA.
“It’s a learning curve for everyone, the atmosphere is different to what we are used to back home, the matches are intense, and the pace is high. We are having classes in-between matches, and this is helping us understand our roles and responsibilities better” said Antsino
She further added that this initiative is step by FIFA to prepare referees for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I believe that officiating at the World Cup is every referees dream and I’m just a step away from that and I don’t take that for granted. I appreciate the opportunity given to me by FIFA /CAF and the NFA. There are so many talented referees here, I intend to learn as much as I can and put in the work and I hope that I make the list”
For three weeks, the 36 participating referees from 21 different countries will attend specific daily training sessions, video match analysis sessions, and officiate at matches in the tournament.