REFEREE ABROAD

By Rachel Huser A Program Giving Soccer Referees Priceless Experiences

Referee Abroad participants come from more than 70 countries and officiate at a variety of events, including the Paris World Games.

Macauley Gibson, England

Offi ciating matches with the Eiffel Tower as the background. Traveling for the fi rst time by yourself. Navigating scrambled game schedules because of an incoming typhoon. Playing a pickup soccer match at a Chinese middle school. Connecting with family in Sweden. Forming lifelong bonds with international friends.

It all sounds like a dream, like something straight out of a feature fi lm. But what if it wasn’t?

Gabe Billings, Joe Connolly, Sam Garelick, Josh Well and Omeed Azadpour are soccer referees from all across the United States, ranging in age from early 20s to early 30s, who participated in Referee Abroad, the program that gave them those priceless experiences and more. This is their story.

“It’s so compelling and different, getting to travel and do international games without being a FIFA referee,” Azadpour said. He is a national grade referee with U.S. Soccer and has been a referee for more than 20 years. He started when he was just 10 years old when his father would drag him along to his games.

Referee Abroad is similar to a study abroad program for college students. The only differences are that instead of college students, it’s referees, and instead of enrolling in classes, they offi ciate soccer matches. The program was offi cially founded in 2011 by referees Daniele Curcio of Italy, Matthew Day of England and Sebastien Passel of France. Curcio and Day still oversee the program.

“We wanted to give back to the referee community,” said Curcio, president of Referee Abroad. “The experiences we provide make a difference in young referees’ lives.”

According to its website, the European-based nonprofi t organization aims “to unite referees with international tournaments with the objective of expanding their refereeing experience and meeting new cultures both on and off the pitch. Referees in their own right are unique and extraordinary, usually inspired by an internal and natural desire to follow such a passion. Pursuing refereeing abroad with colleagues from across the globe is, in our opinion, the zenith of such a passion.”

“It’s a useful program,” Curcio said. “There’s a pressing need for more programs like this.”

Referee Abroad connects referees to 30 different tournaments in 18 different countries annually. More than 800 referees participate in these tournaments with at least 70 different countries represented. Curcio often attends the tournaments and is hands-on with the referees that choose to participate.

“It’s very enriching to work with people from so many different backgrounds,” he said. “It’s an incredible experience that I deeply cherish.”

Curcio actually went out and recruited a majority of the American referees who were interviewed for this story — Billings, Well and Azadpour all decided to participate in the program after connecting with Curcio.

Referee Abroad participants pose for a photo during the Gothia Cup opening ceremony in China.

COURTESY OF DANIELE CURCIO COURTESY OF DANIELE CURCIO

Billings, originally from Chicago, became a referee because all his friends were doing it. He is now a grade seven referee — well on his way to becoming a grade six — and offi ciating Midwest Premier League and United Premier Soccer League matches among others. Billings became aware of Referee Abroad when he traveled to Minnesota to offi ciate in the USA Cup.

“I had a great time meeting referees from other countries at the USA Cup,” he said. “And I wanted to experience what it was like refereeing in Europe.”

His fi rst experience was the Paris World Games during the summer of 2018. It was his fi rst time traveling by himself. Shortly after Paris, Billings immediately signed up for

Between Gothia Cup matches, referee Sam Garelick visits the Qingdao market and tries a local delicacy — pig snout.

Gabe Billings works the lines during an overseas tournament.

other tournaments. He has now been to Africa, Brazil, Portugal and Greece. In Africa, Billings offi ciated the Africa Youth Cup in Cape Verde. During his twoweek stay, he would referee one game a day and spend the rest of it exploring the town.

“Referee Abroad is an investment,” he said. “The knowledge and culture exposure that I got was way more valuable than a couple of hundred dollars for a plane ticket.”

Well, who hails from Texas, is another referee who has participated. He has been offi ciating for about nine years and is a regional referee who offi ciates plenty of adult matches. He found out about Referee Abroad while he was studying abroad in Milan. He personally met Curcio and joined the program shortly thereafter.

“Refereeing is already exciting for me. Doing it in another country was just amazing,” Well said. “Referee Abroad is able to give everyone the experience of a FIFA referee.”

His fi rst tournament was the Paris World Games in 2019, a year after Billings. There, he offi ciated two games with the Eiffel Tower in the background during the weeklong tournament. His experience was a positive one.

“I was surprised that everyone was on the same page from a referee standpoint,” he said. “And I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.”

Azadpour, originally from San Diego, shared similar thoughts.

“The referee community, at least for me, has a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “It is very similar to the military.”

Azadpour met Curcio at a tournament in Southern California. He already knew a few friends who participated in the program, and meeting Curcio only further prompted him to join.

“It’s so compelling and different, getting to travel and do international games without being a FIFA referee,” Azadpour said.

The Paris World Games was also Azadpour’s fi rst tournament. He went in 2018 and again in 2019. Shortly after his 2019 Paris trip, he traveled to China, where he offi ciated in the Gothia Cup, including a U19 fi nals match.

When asked about the language barrier, since Azadpour didn’t speak Chinese, he said, “Everyone speaks the same language in soccer. We all just meet in the middle.”

It was a different experience for both Connolly and Garelick. Both referees joined the program without having met with Curcio fi rst, after seeing the program online and wanting to be a part of it.

“It seemed like a really cool opportunity,” Connolly said. “So I just went for it.”

Connolly is a grassroots referee and only one assessment away form obtaining his regional badge. He attended two tournaments during the summer of 2019. First was the Paris World Games, and then he traveled to Sweden immediately after that tournament.

He worked with two Dutch referees during his fi rst match at Paris and offi ciated at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

“We had a great pregame,” Connolly said. “That fi rst game was awesome.”

Connolly speaks Swedish so he had little to no trouble navigating the language barrier during his time abroad. He has family in Sweden and he was able to see them while he was offi ciating.

“Joining Referee Abroad was intimidating at fi rst, but I overcame that with ease,” he said. “The experiences that I had with Referee Abroad have allowed me to work with people that I’m not familiar with and understand what the center wants and how to communicate with strangers.”

Garelick — a fellow grassroots referee who offi ciates high school matches, State Cup and other leagues — shared similar thoughts. He joined the program in 2019 and went to China shortly after. His fi rst match was 7 vs. 7 and he was the only referee. Garelick said he used a lot of nonverbal communication during his time there, even with fellow referees.

Garelick offi ciated teams from Mongolia, New Zealand and Mexico with referees from Iran, China and Canada. He still keeps in touch with the Canadian referee. According to Garelick, they all bonded pretty quickly when they were forced to stay inside the hotel while a Category 3 typhoon raged outside. The tournament had to postpone a few games, but everyone remained safe.

Garelick said that after the fi nals, all of the referees rode a bus to the local middle school and played a pickup match.

“It was such a cool experience,” he said. “I plan to keep going to tournaments for as long as I can.”

The rest of the American referees echoed similar notions. They all had such positive and enriching experiences with Referee Abroad and they look forward to coming back to more tournaments in the future and learning more about the beautiful game.

The program is open for any referee, no matter the grade or age. Referees pay for their air fare and a tournament fee that generally ranges between $80-120. While not paid to offi ciate, tournaments typically provide room and board, plus transportation to and from the airport and game sites.

To the referees who are just starting out, these seasoned referees say stick with the avocation. Build on the little things. Get your friends to join. Be open-minded. Referee Abroad also offers mentoring for any referee who requests it.

“All referees need to have this experience,” Garelick said.

“I highly recommend this program,” Azadpour said. “It is priceless. Take the plunge and join the international referee community.”

“Consider this an invitation for all referees looking to travel and develop,” Curcio said. “Expect the unexpected.” Rachel Huser is a freelance writer and former youth soccer referee from Brooklyn Park, Minn. 

U.S. referees Omeed Azadpour (left) and Sam Garelick officiated at the Gothia Cup in China.

Through Referee Abroad, Gabe Billings has worked soccer matches in Africa, Europe and South America.