17 Match Officials and referee coaches attend jadran cup in Croatia.

A group of sixteen match officials and coaches from Cambridgeshire, plus one from Hertfordshire FA, attended the Jadran Cup in the Istrian town of Umag, to officiate in the annual European Competition.

With teams from Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia in attendance, the tournament gave the group of 17 the chance to hone in on their referee skills ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Throughout the 5 day visit, match officials were provided 1 to 1 support in each of their games, followed by a thorough debrief of each performance undertaken each day. 

The match officials were tasked with officiating a mixture of 7v7, 8v8, 9v9 and 11v11 football, and challenging themselves with the different expectations within the continent compared to back home in England.

Some of the benefits that the match officials encountered during the visit were:

• Enhancing Communication Skills and the impact of Body Language.
• Improving fitness and mental resilience 
• Initiating a sense of pride for Match Officials and Coaches to represent their County FA at an International Tournament
• Developing Confidence, self-esteem and positivity
• Enhancing Social and Personal Skille

 This is the second year that Cambridgeshire FA has supported the Jadran Cup and once again, were the only officials in attendance at the event.

Cambridgeshire FA Referee Development Officer, Sam Anderson, travelled alongside the group and was supported by Matthew Leach, John Steel and Joe Karram as coaches, with John and Joe also regularly picking up the whistle.

Sam said of the event;

"Our relationship with Euro-Sportring and the Jadran Cup is one that we are incredibly proud of and it is fantastic that we were once again able to attend the tournament with a large group of referees. The group was chosen following a rigorous application process ensuring the officials taken we individuals who had engaged in sessions held during the season. 

This group of referees did themselves and the County FA proud in the way that they conducted themselves both on and off the field, as well as with the level of detail they were willing to go into to ensure that they grew as referees and as people during the event.

Due to the intense nature of the tournament, it was pleasing to be able to see the feedback being taken into account and implemented at the earliest opportunity. I hope that the experiences they have received over the past 5 days whilst in Croatia are taken forward and propel them into a great start to the 2022/2023 season ".

Cambridgeshire FA's international events don't stop there, with a group of three Level 4's, joining Referee Development Officer Sam, at the Norway Cup in late July/early August as part of our ongoing relationship with NFF Oslo. The group will head to the Oslo for 7 days of elite level international football, to further grow and support their development.

If you would like to find out more about refereeing opportunities in Cambridgeshire, please contact Referee Development Officer, Sam Anderson by email, Referees@CambridgeshireFA.com