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World Cup referees appointed

16 February 2010

Fifa has appointed 30 referees from 28 countries to officiate at the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ in South Africa, and has implemented a programme to ensure they are in peak condition come 11 June.

According to a statement by Fifa earleir this month, choosing referees for the tournament began with an initial group of 54 trios of referees from all over the world in 2007, when Fifa created its Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP), which was aimed at preparing prospective tournament referees.

International experts

The RAP working group, a team of international experts in the fields of refereeing technique, fitness and psychology was set up by Fifa to monitor and analyse all of the information on the candidate referees, involving those responsible for refereeing in each confederation.

The Fifa Medical Assessment and Research Centre was another key group in this process – the latest technology has been implemented in the preparation of the referees both within practical training, and interactive sessions, while performances at respective Fifacompetitions were also analysed and evaluated.

Theoretical tests

Theoretical tests undertaken exclusively in English – which has been the lingua franca for Fifa's referees for many years – to ensure appropriate knowledge of the laws of the game, the regulations for Fifa competitions and the directives of the International Football Association Board were also a regular feature during the last three years.

The group of 30 trios of referees selected will participate in a training seminar next month.

A final assessment will be conducted in May, and a decision made regarding the acting and support referees prior to the first match appointments being made for the World Cup.

SAinfo reporter