Aston Villa crazy Prince William heading to Midlands to talk about referees
The Prince of Wales will visit a referee training course next week as part of a campaign to recruit more people from black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds into refereeing roles.
William, who is patron of the Football Association, will visit the course at Sporting Khalsa FC in Willenhall on Tuesday March 11.
The visit is a part of the FA's Reflective and Representative Campaign.
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During the visit, William will meet representatives from the FA and Sporting Khalsa to hear about the importance of opening up opportunities in football to young people from diverse backgrounds.
He will then speak to British Army Lieutenant Levi Gray, a professional referee and trainer on the course, to hear about her career journey.
The prince will finish by being taken on to the pitch to engage with different stations teaching refereeing skills such as whistle tone and flag signals.
He will have the opportunity to practise being a referee in a mini football game alongside participants on the programme.
The course started in July 2023 and combines theory and practical training to support those taking their first steps into officiating.
Participants will be taught key skills needed to referee grassroots football matches safely and effectively.
It is aimed at people aged 14 and over who wish to referee mini football, 9v9 and 11v11 games.
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The runners-up go to Round 5, with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff. Tuesday, June 10 (all times ET) _____ CAF (Africa) How many World Cup teams can qualify?9 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? None qualified yet What's on tap: Nothing in June. Having last played in March, the 54 teams (now reduced to 52) return to action in September. The nine group winners will advance directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will fight for an intercontinental playoff spot. At the halfway point of the qualification phase, there are plenty of top teams in control of their respective groups. Teams like Egypt and South Africa are in control of their respective groups for the moment. Morocco, the 2022 World Cup surprise semifinals, are also in control in their group. The one wrinkle is Group E – which has been reduced to four teams after the disqualification of Congo and Eritrea – and how that could potentially affect whoever finishes in second place, since it may not have enough points to be considered for the intercontinental playoff phase. Here are the current top two teams in each group. Group First place Pts Second place Pts A Egypt 16 Burkina Faso 11 B DR Congo 13 Senegal 12 C South Africa 13 Rwanda 8 D Cabo Verde 13 Cameroon 12 E Morocco 15 Tanzania 9 F Ivory Coast 16 Gabon 15 G Algeria 15 Mozambique 12 H Tunisia 16 Namibia 12 I Ghana 15 Comoros 12 _____ CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean) How many World Cup teams can qualify? 6 automatically (3 co-hosts, 3 through qualifying), 2 enter the playoffs Who is in? Canada, Mexico, United States What's on tap: The three co-hosts are in, leaving three more automatic spots for the region. There are also two spots for the intercontinental playoff to be determined. 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Group 1st – Team (Pts) 2nd – Team (Pts) A Honduras – 9 pts Cuba – 6 pts B Costa Rica – 9 pts Trinidad & Tobago – 7 pts C Curaçao – 9 pts Haiti – 9 pts D Nicaragua – 9 pts Panama – 9 pts E Guatemala – 9 pts Jamaica – 9 pts F Suriname – 9 pts El Salvador – 7 pts Once the two teams from each group are settled, those 12 teams will be placed in three groups of four. Each team will play its opponents in round-robin home-and-away matches. The three group winners advance to the World Cup and the two best group runners-up move to the playoffs. Tuesday, June 10 _____ CONMEBOL (South America) How many World Cup teams can qualify?6 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? Argentina What's on tap: It's shaping up to be a fairly cut-and-dry campaign in this 10-team region, but two of these three teams – Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay – will clinch. The simplest way for Ecuador to assure its place is to beat Peru, with Venezuela beating Uruguay. Brazil and Paraguay play each other on Tuesday, but need some favorable results to happen elsewhere. Colombia still needs more results to qualify, but it would bode well if they could beat Argentina on Tuesday. Peru and Chile are in danger of being eliminated. Pos Team P W D L Pts Status 1 Argentina 15 11 1 3 34 Qualified 2 Ecuador 15 7 6 2 24 Direct spot 3 Paraguay 15 6 6 3 24 Direct spot 4 Brazil 15 6 4 5 22 Direct spot 5 Uruguay 15 5 6 4 21 Direct spot 6 Colombia 15 5 6 4 21 Direct spot 7 Venezuela 15 4 6 5 18 Playoff zone 8 Bolivia 15 4 2 9 14 — 9 Peru 15 2 5 8 11 — 10 Chile 15 2 4 9 10 — Tuesday, June 10 _____ OFC (Oceania) How many World Cup teams have qualified?1 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? New Zealand, New Caledonia (playoff team) What's on tap: The 11-team qualifying tournament from this region, consisting of countries and territories in the South Pacific, concluded in March. 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These 16 teams will then be bracketed to clinch the remaining four World Cup spots in March 2026. European teams cannot reach the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff. Tuesday, June 10 Grp Team P W D L GD Pts A Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 B Kosovo 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 C Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 D Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 France 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 E Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 F Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rep. of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 G Poland 2 2 0 0 +3 6 Finland 3 1 1 1 −1 4 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 +2 3 Lithuania 3 0 2 1 −1 2 Malta 3 0 1 2 −3 1 H Bosnia & Herzegovina 3 3 0 0 +3 9 Romania 3 1 0 2 +2 3 Cyprus 2 1 0 1 +1 3 Austria 1 1 0 0 +1 3 San Marino 3 0 0 3 −7 0 I Norway 3 3 0 0 +10 9 Israel 3 2 0 1 +1 6 Italy 2 1 0 1 −1 3 Estonia 3 1 0 2 −2 3 Moldova 2 0 0 2 −6 0 J North Macedonia 4 2 2 0 +4 8 Wales 3 2 1 0 +5 7 Kazakhstan 3 1 0 2 −1 3 Belgium 1 0 1 0 0 1 Liechtenstein 3 0 0 3 −8 0 K England 0 0 0 0 0 0 Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Albania 0 0 0 0 0 0 Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 L Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gibraltar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? 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