Esther AzzopardiEsther Azzopardi is currently in Nyon, Switzerland, where she is attending a three-day annual summer gathering for top European referees organised by UEFA in preparation for the upcoming 2014/15 season.
The summer gathering, which comes to a close today, is a follow-up to the UEFA winter courses held earlier this year and will provide detail advice to the referees present on various topics with the aim of achieving uniformity in their decision-making in the upcoming season.
In addition to the 24 elite category referees (men), the 68 first category referees (men) and the 12 elite category referees (women), Azzopardi is one of eight first category referees (women) invited by the UEFA Referees’ Committee.
Female referees have joined their male counterparts at UEFA’s courses for the first time last year, outlining the importance placed by the referees’ committee on ensuring that women refereeing standards continually progress in line with the constant development of women’s football.
The main objectives of the gathering are to learn from the experience of the previous season’s UEFA matches, to emphasise the key refereeing topics for the new season and to test the fitness level of the participants.