Kari Seitz wants to make real impact on behalf of women

Kari Seitz gets an inmportant job as  senior manager in FIFA’s referees department. “One of my key goals was always to be a role model and make a real impact on behalf of women”, she says on the website of FIFA. The US referee officiated at four different World Cups  (1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011), as well as three Olympic soccer tournaments (2004, 2008, and 2012). No other referee ever achieved that. Men’s record holder is Canadian assistant referee Hector Vergara with 14 matches in three different World Cups.

Kari Seitz

Seitz’ first task is helping with the development of the prospective list of referees for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She got a dream job as she wants to make an impact in women’s lifes. Now she will help world’s best lead referees improve their game. “I didn’t know if [my career] would be in sport, never mind in football. I just wanted to make some kind of difference, and in refereeing I did feel that I made some progress. But this job, I feel, offers me an even bigger platform to help more women and be a positive influence and example.”

In 2013 Seitz has retired after 14 years at the highest level as active referee, while in the meantime she ran a big advertising company. At the moment of her retirement U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati showed the importance of role models like Seitz. “Kari has played a key role in the growth of women’s soccer in the United States over the past 15 years, and her dedication to her craft has always been admirable”.

When the US Soccer Organisation held there 100th anniversary they published an interesting interview series. One of the people that has been interviewed was Kari Seitz, right after the end of her career.

American referees at the London Olympics

After the 2012 Olympics match officials Kari Seitz, Veronica Perez and Marlene Duffy were interviewed. The refereeing trio als posted their stories during the Olympics. It’s in their Journal of the soccer referees representing the USA at the London Olympic Games 2012. For Kari Seitz it was her third consecutive appointment for an Olympic tournament.

The trio got the opening match and a quarter final, but was send home afterwards – the US team reached the final. The team was disappointed, but had many good experiences. “We’ve loved every minute of the games and we owe a large part of that to your support”, they say on their blog.

Part three of this video series with Olympic referees contains questions from the Californian referees.

Duffy and Perez on the line at U20 female WC

The South African World Cup has ended more than a week ago, but there’s another World Cup going on in Germany. The female U20 talents are playing to become the world’s best. Forty officials are taking care of the matches.

Tonight Korea DPR plays against Sweden in Augsburg with three North American officials: Carol Anne Chenard (Canada) and Veronica Perez and Marlene Duffy (both assistants from the USA). “This match could be a very exciting match! We are happy to have another opportunity to work with Carol Anne and to receive another assignment in the tournament”, writes Duffy on their blog.

Duffy, Radzik (4th official from Poland), Chenard and Perez. Photo from personal blog of American assistants.

The match tonight will be the second appointment for the trio. They officiated also in the match between Germany and Colombia which ended in 3-1. “It was an exciting match, full of decisions down to the final minutes of the match. 15,000 fans attended the match, and the atmosphere was loud and absolutely great”, they wrote.

Veronica Perez
Role: Assistant Referee
Country: USA
Date of Birth: 31.10.1979
Height: 168 cm
Occupation: ?
Mother tongue: English
Other languages: Spanish
International since: 2008
Marlene Duffy
Role: Assistant Referee
Country: USA
Date of Birth: 04.08.1979
Height: 160 cm
Occupation: Geologist
Mother tongue: English
Other languages: Spanish
International since: 2008

Source: Fifa.com