Guyana’s leading women’s assistant referee Nykasie Liverpool left Guyana yesterday to officiate in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

The 16-team finals will kick off on September 5 with hosts Trinidad and Tobago taking on Chile at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain. The tournament will run until the 25th of next month.

Liverpool who hails from the East Coast of Demerara has been an international referee since 2004.

She will be officiating in her second FIFA Tournament, having officiated at the Women’s Under 20 World Cup in Chile in 2008.

The Guyana Football Referees Council (GFRC) joins the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in extending best wishes to Liverpool on her appointment.

The sixteen competing teams are Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Japan, Korea Republic, Korea DPR, Germany, Spain, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, preparations are going apace for the Guyana referees Fitness Run set for September 11th at Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary starting at 06:00 hours.  An estimated 50 referees are expected to compete in the Fitness Run as they prepare for assessment by the World body governing football by September 30.

Guyana’s FIFA Referee Dianne Ferreira James, who at present resides in the Bahamas, is due home next weekend to participate in the Fitness Run.