On June 22 Minnesota State Referee Administrator Paula Hildman was named by U.S. Soccer to the National Referee Committee (NRC). This prestigious appointment is limited to a small number of experienced officials and administrators who advise U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors on bylaws and policies that pertain to the national referee development program and govern the training curriculum and advancement protocols for referees within the United States.
The NRC 
also makes an annual formal recommendation to U.S. Soccer’s board of referees and assistant referees to be appointed to the FIFA International Panel, and thus become eligible for international appointments such as World Cup Qualifiers, the Gold Cup, and the World Cup. The NRC includes other distinguished members including former Women’s World Cup referees Kari Seitz and Sandra Hunt.
“I am honored to be part of such a distinguished group of people,” says Hildman. “I am looking forward to working hard to bring the referee program forward.”
Paula has been a soccer official since 1992, and has served as a referee instructor since 1998 and assessor since 2002. Her game experience includes assignments on U.S. Women’s national team, Canadian national team, and Ghanaian national team matches. She officiated matches from 1997 to 2006 in the A League, the W League, and D3 Pro and PDL in Region II. In 2001 she represented Region II at the Donnelly Cup, and in 2002 she was invited by the English FA to be a guest official in premier youth and semi-professional matches.
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