Five representatives from the English-speaking Caribbean will be among 45 match officials that will oversee the inaugural edition of the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup scheduled for February 17 to March 10 in the United States.
The five, comprises three Jamaicans – referees Odette Hamilton, Daneon Parchment and assistant referee Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing –and two Trinidadians in assistant referee Carissa Douglas-Jacob and referee Crystal Sobers.
All five are experienced in their own right, having officiated at one or more major tournament at some point in their respective careers. However, Head of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Referees department, Cardella Samuels, believes that with this being the first ever Women’s Gold Cup tournament, the appoint of the Jamaicans, in particular, speaks to some significance where their consistency and hard work are concerned.
“First, I must take the time to congratulate our Jamaican officials on their appointment. It is always a great feeling having our Match Officials being selected to officiate in these major tournaments. This is where we can say their hard work has paid off,” Samuels told SportsMax.TV.
“I must also laud the effort of the JFF and its referees programme, which ensures its match officials are consistently participating in Concacaf events, and credit also goes to the instructors who have been ensuring they (officials) are prepared,” she added.
The Gold Cup, being hailed as the new flagship competition for women's national teams will be played across four venues in three United States metropolitan areas.
Caribbean teams Guyana, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti, are among six teams set to contest the preliminary round at Dignity Health Sports Park Track and Field Stadium on February 17. Guatemala and El Salvador are the others.
The winning teams will advance to the group stage to join United States, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Canada.
That 12-team group stage will be played between February 20 and 28, at Dignity Health Sports Park (Group A), Snapdragon Stadium (Group B), and Shell Energy Stadium (Group C). After round-robin play, the group winners, runners-up, and two best third-place finishers, will advance to the quarter-final round, scheduled for March 2 and 3, at BMO Stadium.
This will be followed by the semi-final round and final at Snapdragon Stadium on March 6 and 10, respectively.
English-speaking Caribbean officials: Odette Hamilton (referee), Daneon Parchment (video match official), Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing (assistant referee), Carissa Douglas-Jacob (assistant referee), Crystal Sobers (support referee).