Four Queensland match officials will represent the country at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after being selected among the 99 strong panel by FIFA’s Referees Committee to officiate men’s and women’s football fixtures.
Chris Beath (Referee), Kate Jacewicz (Referee), Ashley Beecham (Assistant Referee) and Anton Shchetinin (Assistant Referee) will each make their official debut at an Olympic Games as they travel to Japan for the tournament, which kicks off in July after being postponed due to the global impacts of COVID-19.
Gold Coast-raised Jacewicz, who began her refereeing career in Queensland, was earlier this year also named as one of four Australian match officials selected as candidates for the ‘Road to AUS/NZL’ project.
Beath, Jacewicz, Beecham and Shchetinin have been on the FIFA Panel of International Referees since 2011 (Beath and Jacewicz), 2013 (Beecham) and 2016 (Shchetinin) respectively.
The Tokyo 2020 Women’s Football Tournament opens on 21 July 2021 with Great Britain facing Chile at the Sapporo Dome, and concludes with the gold medal game on 6 August 2021 with the Final at the Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, which will also be the setting for the Olympic Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
The men’s competition begins on 22 July 2021 with Egypt versus Spain at the Sapporo Dome, with the gold medal game taking place on 7 August 2021 at the International Stadium, Yokohama.
The preparation of the appointed match officials for these important competitions will be regularly and closely monitored before and during the Olympic Games by a team of technical trainers, including FIFA referees and video assistant referee (VAR) instructors, fitness coaches, physiotherapists and sports scientists, providing the referees, assistant referees and video assistant referees with the best possible preparation and support.
The Tokyo 2020 Men’s and Women’s Football Tournaments represent for the Queensland match officials the next important step on the road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.
