Former FIFA Referees In Charge Of Developing England’s Top Officials To Be Special Guests
The Dr Pepper Dallas Cup, the most prestigious international youth soccer tournament in the United States, is pleased to announce that retired English FIFA referees, Mike Riley and Howard Webb, will be attending Dallas Cup’s opening weekend as special guests of the tournament. Dallas Cup XXXVI will take place from March 29 through April 5, 2015.
“We are honored to welcome back Mike Riley and pleased to be able to introduce the tournament to Howard Webb,” said Dr Pepper Dallas Cup Executive Director, Andy Swift. “The presence of these elite referees will be very inspirational for our tournament officials and further enhances the Dallas Cup reputation of being a first-class educational platform for referees from around the world.”
Riley, a former Dallas Cup match official, refereed in the English Premier League for fourteen years, which included eleven as a FIFA referee. Currently, he is the General Manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organization which is responsible for developing professional referees in England.
“Just as players need international experience as part of their development, so do match officials,” explained Riley. “What we at PGMOL like about the Dallas Cup is that it provides a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of players and referees to develop in tandem.
“PGMOL has provided almost 50 referees for the tournament since 1993. The experience gained refereeing in the most prestigious international youth soccer tournament in the United States has benefitted the development of all of our officials. We have had eight of our officials join the FIFA International list following their participation in Dallas, with another four referees who have gone on to take charge of matches in the Barclays Premier League.”
For eleven years, Webb, PGMOL’s Technical Director, officiated games in the English Premier League and several high-profile tournaments, including FIFA World Cups, FIFA Confederations Cups, UEFA European Championships, UEFA Champions League, and the FA Cup. In 2010, he was the first person to be selected to referee both the finals of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League in the same year.
“Refereeing is an incredibly rewarding career and one of my favourite aspects was the chance it gave you to explore new countries and cultures,” said Webb. “I was incredibly fortunate to referee in nine international tournaments in my professional career. I would recommend to any official the sooner you can get international experience the better.
“I’m busy now working closely with the PGMOL coaching team to develop the next generation of Football League, Premier League and FIFA referees. I know from one of our senior coaches, Steve Dunn, that the Dallas Cup provides an excellent environment in which to work alongside our officials. Refereeing some of the top teams from around the world should help their progression and I am really looking forward to seeing the Dallas experience at first hand.”
Webb’s upcoming appearance at Dr Pepper Dallas Cup will mark the second time the tournament has hosted a FIFA World Cup Final referee. Mexico’s Edgardo Codesal attended the 1991 Dallas Cup, a year after managing the final game of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Webb and Codesal are two of only 20 people to have refereed a FIFA World Cup Final.
Elite teams from all corners of the globe will be competing in this year’s tournament, including Barclays U18 Premier League Champion Everton FC, 2014 Copa Sudamericana and defending Dallas Cup champion River Plate of Argentina, Brazilian powerhouse SC Corinthians, 2014 Liga MX finalist UANL Tigres, and Dallas Cup debutants, Valencia from Spain.
