Five Canadian referees will be heading to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, selected to be referees, assistant referees, or video referees to assist with VAR calls.

Marie-Soleil Beaudoin and Myriam Marcotte will have the whistle in the middle of the park on the world’s biggest stage, and Chantal Boudreau will join them as an assistant referee running the touchlines. In the VAR booth will be Carol Anne Chénard and Drew Fischer.

Beaudoin, Boudreau and Fischer are all heading to their second Women’s World Cup after officiating in 2019, and Chénard will be going to her third World Cup after previously going in 2011 and the World Cup on home soil in 2015. Marcotte, the youngest of the five referees, has been on the FIFA List of International Referees since 2019, and will be making her Women’s World Cup debut. Fischer has also been to a men’s World Cup, serving as a video ref in Qatar last year. All of them have experience at Concacaf and FIFA youth tournaments as well.

The Canadian Premier League has also played a role in the development of many Canadian referees since its inception. With the league playing over 100 matches per season, there are plenty of opportunities for Canadian referees to get games at the professional level. Beaudoin and Marcotte have both taken charge of matches in the CPL this season — three and two times respectively — while Boudreau and Fischer also have experience in the CPL going back to the league’s inaugural season in 2019, whether it’s on the sidelines, in the middle of the park or as the fourth official.

“The Canadian Premier League has been a good league to get experience at a professional level,” Marcotte said in a press conference on Friday. “On my part, it’s been a really good experience, and I’m glad we have that league in Canada to pursue it at home and have that level of play.”

Beaudoin echoed Marcotte’s sentiments, adding that the league provides a crucial preparation for the World Cup in addition to just offering regular games to gain experience.

“I can compare it to preparing for the Women’s World Cup in 2019, because the CPL had just started,” she started. “One thing that the CPL provides is the professional environments, which is the closest one that can mimic a Women’s World Cup environment. We have the pressure to get the decisions correct week in and week out, which is what we’re going to experience in Australia and New Zealand.

“That kind of pressure is what we love as referees, but also what we need in order to perform the best we possibly can on the highest stage this summer.”

Beaudoin elaborated on the fact that referees need to prepare for a World Cup just as much as players do, in order to be sharp mentally and physically when the stakes are the highest Down Under in just over a month’s time. Regular matches at the professional level allow that to be the case, something that didn’t exist in Canada until recently.

“It’s absolutely essential,” Beaudoin added when asked about having regular opportunities to take charge of games leading into the tournament. “As referees, we prepare very similarly than players would do. You would expect players to get regular minutes for whichever club team they’re playing with right now, and it’s the same thing for referees.

“We need to be technically, physically and tactically as sharp as possible when it comes to the World Cup, we have tremendous support from Canada Soccer to get regular appointments.”

Also important for referees — especially the ones who will be on the pitch like Beaudoin, Marcotte and Boudreau — is regular opportunities to work together and build the trust and familiarity that referees need to have with one another. This weekend, in fact, that trio — along with Gabriel Lemieux — will be officiating the Atlético Ottawa vs. Halifax Wanderers match at TD Place on Saturday.

“The other thing that’s really important for us, and once again Canada Soccer is essential in providing that, is the opportunity to work together,” Beaudoin said. “There are high chances that I’ll work with Myriam and Carol Anne and Chantal at the World Cup, so it’s really great when we can work together domestically to get our communication and our teamwork as good as it can be prior to the World Cup.”

The women’s World Cup will kick off on July 20th, and end with the final to be played exactly one month later on August 20th.