SERGEANT Maurees Skeete of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF),and the country’s only female FIFA referee, has been nominated for the 2nd consecutive year by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) for the Female Referee of The Year Award.

This is the second CONCACAF award nomination for Skeete in this category, having been nominated last year. She is among nine other female referees who have been nominated for this award, which is in its fourth year and is one of the two Caribbean referees nominated this year.

In an invited comment, Skeete expressed her pleasure at the nomination, “Since being appointed as a FIFA referee in 2014, I’ve trained and worked very hard to deliver my best on the pitch at every tournament at which I was appointed to officiate. It is a distinct honour for me to have been nominated for CONCACAF Female Referee of the Year. This is a good feeling and I’m grateful for this recognition. I could not have done it without the creator, my family and my organization, the Guyana Defence Force which has supported me throughout this (journey).”

The two-time Guyana Football Referees Council ‘Female Referee of Year’ recipient is a consistent performer at local, regional and hemispheric tournaments.

Other nominees for the Female Referee of the Year are: Carol Ann Chenard (Canada), Kimberly Moreira (Costa Rica), Marie Soleil Beaudoin (Canada), Melissa Borjas Pastrana (Honduras), Mirian Leon ( EL Salvador), Ekaterina Koroleva ( USA), Princess Brown (Jamaica), Quetzalli Alvarado( Mexico) and Shirley Perello ( El Salvador).

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) urges local football supporters to vote for Ms. Skeete via http://www.concacaf.com/awards.