Three U.S. referees, one assessor selected for Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship
CHICAGO – U.S. Soccer Referee Karen Abt and Assistant Referees Alicia Messer and Jennifer Garner have been selected as match officials for the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, which begins Feb. 22 in the Dominican Republic.
Additionally, Assessor Sandra Serafini from the USA was also selected to work with officials at the tournament that will qualify two teams to the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and Panama this summer.
Concacaf announced 12 match officials from throughout the region for the competition as well as 24 Assistant Referees and eight Assessors.
The selected officials are three of 26 U.S. Soccer match officials who were named in January to the 2020 FIFA Panel, the world’s highest level of officiating. Selection grants the 26 officials the opportunity to referee at the highest levels of international soccer.
Abt has been on the FIFA Panel since 2016 and officiated international matches in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup and Victory Tour last year. Previously, she has officiated Concacaf Championship events for U-15 Boys in 2014 and U-17 Men in 2016. She is Currently an NWSL official.
Messer has been on the FIFA Panel since 2018 and spent 2019 officiating matches across MLS, NWSL and USL Championship. Additionally, she was an Assistant Referee during the 2019 SheBelieves Cup.
Garner has been on the FIFA Panel since 2018. In 2019, she officiated international matches at the SheBelieves Cup and Victory Tour in addition to working league matches in MLS, NWSL and USL Championship.
Serafini is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO). She has worked as a Referee Assessor for the last 10 years after retiring as a FIFA Ref in 2009. She was on the FIFA panel from 2006-08 after working her way up from her first year as a ref in 1998.
Referees from Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago will also be present at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. Concacaf selects its best match officials from around the North and Central American and Caribbean regions for its competitions.
Related News
Pipeline SC, Baltimore Armour executive Santino Quaranta on youth development
Santino Quaranta recently appeared as a guest on the The SoccerWire Podcast.
U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team earns 2-0 win over China PR in Tricontinental Cup
The U-18 USWNT defeated China PR 2-0 in the Tricontinental Cup.
USWNT begins CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying against Haiti on Tuesday night
The U.S. Women’s National Team will face Haiti on Jan. 28 in Houston.
SOCCERWIRE MARKETPLACE
- Dana Cup Hjørring 2025
- Join Official Elite Summer Soccer Camps with Europe’s Top Pro Clubs!
- Loudoun College Showcase 2025: Earlybird Registration is OPEN NOW
- GET SEEN AT OUR COLLEGE ID CAMP!
- Maryland United College Showcase Series 2025
- The St. James Winter Futsal Program
- International Tryout in Spain
- ECNL Girls Goalkeepers Wanted!
- Adidas College Showcase 2024
- International Soccer Tours & Tournaments
College Recruiting Commitment Tracker
Featured Players
COLLEGE RECRUITING STARTS HERE
Join the SoccerWire College Soccer Recruiting Search Engine and learn how to be seen OVER 1 MILLION TIMES PER YEAR.
- Basic $99 – for life
- Featured $299 – for life
- Featured PLUS $399 – for life