CHICAGO – U.S. Soccer and FIFA Referees Joe Dickerson, Rubiel Vazquez and Armando Villarreal, FIFA Assistant Referees Kyle Atkins, Logan Brown, Corey Parker, Kathryn Nesbitt and Cory Richardson plus FIFA Video Match Officials Allen Chapman, Tim Ford, Edvin Jurisevic and Chris Penso are in action this summer at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, the confederation’s showcase championship event for men’s soccer.
Sixty of Concacaf’s top match officials were selected for the tournament. It’s the Gold Cup debut for assistant referee Cory Richardson, while referee Joe Dickerson earned his first senior confederation championship action during qualifying just before the tournament proper and will now serve as a support official.
Four match officials return from representing the United States at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: referee Armando Villarreal as well as assistant referees Kyle Atkins, Kathryn Nesbitt and Corey Parker. Atkins served as offside VAR for the historic World Cup Final, while Nesbitt and Parker served as reserve assistant referee and standby assistant VAR, respectively.
Nesbitt is one of three female assistant referees and one of six match officials overall selected for the Gold Cup. One of the United States’ most accomplished referees, Nesbitt was a part of the historic Costa Rica-Germany match at Qatar 2022 that featured an all-women crew for the first time in World Cup history. Following the Gold Cup, she will head to Australia and New Zealand to work the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The 12 U.S. Soccer match officials come from the 36 that are a part of the 2023 FIFA Panel, the world’s highest level of officiating. Selection grants individuals the opportunity to referee at the highest levels of international soccer.
Referees from Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago were also selected for the Gold Cup. Concacaf selects its best match officials from across North America, Central America and the Caribbean for its championship competitions.
If you want to become a referee, the 2024 registration year opens on July 1. Visit the U.S. Soccer Learning Center to find a course or contact your State Referee Committee.
