The CONMEBOL qualifying tournament for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup was preceded by a referee seminar. Amongst the 29 participants, CONMEBOL selected, for the first time, three female referees: Maria Pinto (ARG, photo), Valeria Palma (CHI), Anelize Schultz (BRA). The seminar took place in Carlos Barbosa (Brazil) and was led by the technical instructors Cesar Figueredo (URU), Renata Leite (BRA) and Nestor Valiente (PAR).
UEFA also appointed female referees in the Elite Round of the 2020 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Chiara Perona (ITA) and Irina Velikanova (RUS), who previously attended the futsal tournament at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, along with Valeria Palma (CHI).
