U.S. Soccer is introducing a new blog for the referee community, "Official Take". The officiating experts from U.S. Soccer's referee program will provide instructional and informative commentary and analysis on current issues and events in the world of soccer, as well as first-person accounts from some events they work.

You'll find the blog to be an informal place for our experts to address relevant topics that relate to soccer and officiating, as well as a look in at where their role in the game takes them around the globe.

Link: http://ussoccer-referees.blogspot.com/

Our Bloggers

• Alfred Kleinaitis: U.S. Soccer Manager of Referee Development & Education
• Paul Tamberino: Directof of Professional Refereeing
• Brian Hall: Manager of Referee Assessment and Training
• Sandra Hunt: U.S. Soccer National Instructor and National Assessor, FIFA Instructor
• Nasser Sarfaraz: U.S. Soccer National Instructor and National Assessor
• Donald Wilbur: U.S. Soccer National Instructor and National Assessor
• Jair Marrufo: U.S. Soccer Full-time Referee
• Ricardo Salazar: U.S. Soccer Full-time Referee
• Baldomero Toledo: U.S. Soccer Full-time Referee
• Terry Vaughn: U.S. Soccer Full-time Referee

About U.S. Soccer
As the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States, U.S. Soccer has helped chart the course for the sport in the USA for more than 90 years. In this time, the Federation’s mission statement has been very simple and very clear: to make soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.

U.S. Soccer Federation’s Referee Membership has grown tremendously over the years and at the end of 2006 totaled more than 140,000 officials. The Federation originally began to comprehensively train and develop a large number of referees in the early 1970s, and courses are conducted by qualified state referee instructors in a consistent manner throughout the nation.

U.S. Soccer’s referee organization is one of the largest among the 208 national associations belonging to FIFA, with officials calling games at every level of the sport, including youth, amateur and professional games, as well as sanctioned international competitions.