Four Lincolnshire referees have travelled to the 2023 Iber Cup in Portugal, along with PGMOL Assistant Referee Rob Atkin and Lincolnshire FA Referee Development Manager Michael Brader. 

The IberCup is currently one of the most important World Youth Football Tournaments in the world. Since the first edition, around 100 countries have already been represented in the competitions. Every year, between male and female categories, around 50,000 players participate in a super competitive week, with fantastic experiences and a unique opportunity to face teams from all continents. 

This year’s competition is held in Cascais in Portugal.

Previous winners of the competition include Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla FC, Manchester City FC, Arsenal FC, Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Paris St Germain, and Bayern Munich. 

Michael has written us an update on his first day at the competition:

“We’ve arrived here in Portugal for the Iber Cup Cascais. We’re out here with two Referee Coaches, myself and PGMOL Assistant Referee – Rob Atkin. With us are four Level 4 Referees – Nick Elliott, Aimee Keir, Laura Van Lier, and Harry Atkin - for a week of learning and development.”

Games begin today after a welcome meeting last night. The referees will take charge of 4 games a day and today’s fixtures include teams like Lyon, Benfica, Real SC, and CF Estrela de Amadora.

“The competition provides our referees with a fantastic experience and also offers them the chance to receive some coaching and feedback for them to develop as match officials.”

Check back tomorrow for the next update from Michael and see how the referees got on for their first day of fixtures. For more information on refereeing in Lincolnshire, click below:

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