Mark Clattenburg

FIFA U17 final in Chile
HELLO,
SANTIAGO!
Top: The Estadio Sausalito
in Vina Del Mar provided
a spectacular backdrop
for the tournament final
in which Nigeria ran out
2-0 winners over Mali.
Right: Michael Oliver
led the English refereeing
team, also included Stuart
Burt and Gary Beswick.
Michael Oliver, Stuart
Burt and Gary Beswick
had the honour of
officiating at the FIFA U17
World Cup, culminating in
taking charge of the Final.
Their epic story is certain
to inspire you.
Our story began on Thursday 6 August
2015 at our pre-season training camp
at St George’s Park. Michael received an
email direct from FIFA informing him of
the proposal to invite him to the FIFA
U17 World Cup in Chile along with two
assistants. The invitation was subject to
approval after submission of the names
of the Assistant Referees and completion
of the relevant fitness checks.
We had known that this tournament was
a possibility, as had been the FIFA U20
World Cup tournament earlier in the year
in New Zealand. However, as Michael’s
wedding coincided with the later stages
in New Zealand, we knew that the U17
tournament was a more realistic target.
We had eight weeks to prepare, which
consisted of a large number of matches
both at home and in UEFA competitions.
We spoke at length to David Elleray and
our colleagues who had officiated in FIFA
tournaments about what to expect upon
arrival, how to deal with tournament life
and the general experiences we would
encounter. These discussions were
invaluable and we would like to place on
record our thanks to David, Howard Webb,
Mike Mullarkey and Steve Child.
We completed the necessary fitness
and medical checks, co-ordinated by
Simon Breivik and the team at St George’s
Park and travelled to Santiago on Friday
9 October 2015. Our route consisted of
“We all came back as
better officials”
separate flights to Paris CDG, where
we met up, and then a 14-hour flight
to Santiago.
Upon arrival, we were transported to
our hotel and given the programme.
FIFA tournaments are extremely
well structured and you receive the
programme for the next day on a daily
basis. After arriving on Saturday 10
October, our tournament training began
the following day, which allowed us our
first day to explore Santiago.
Our first week consisted of physical and
technical training each morning, followed
by lunch, and then classroom technical
training sessions each afternoon. >>
The FIFA U17
World Cup 2015
Fact File
• The tournament was
played across eight venues
in Chile
• Twenty-four teams
(from six Confederations)
took part
• Fifty-two matches were
played
• One-hundred-and-fifty-one
goals were scored in the
tournament (which is an
average of 2.9 goals a game)
• Nigeria won the tournament.
This is the fifth time they’ve
triumphed
• Ecuador were awarded
the Fair Play Award
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