Newstead was one of one of 33 international Referees selected for the tournament, running from 31 July through to the 4 August. The tournament saw over 40 teams Professional Academy sides from across the world, including Manchester United, Seattle Sounders, FC Basel, Celtic and Al Dhafra.

“It was great to learn from so many different referees from different cultures and backgrounds. Most of the referees I worked with were more experienced, older and operating at a higher level than me so working with them was a privilege to be involved with them.”

Newstead officiated a total of 14 matches across the 5 days, taking up the role of the Refereeing 4 games, an Assistant Referee 8 times and 4th Official twice, including the U14’s Final.

“To be appointed to one of the two major showcase matches was a real honour and a massive shock but I was really happy with my performances during the week so the coaches said it was deserved.

“As a referee the language barrier was something I had to overcome, and finding different ways to communicate with the players and staff was great for my development.”

Every game throughout the week was filmed and had a designated referee coach to each game who would watch and analyse the officials’ performance and provide feedback. The coaches consisted of Ex-FIFA and Premier League Officials with experience of FA Cup Finals, Champions League and World Cup fixtures. The coaches included: Keith Hackett, Guy Beale, Ray Brown, Mark Halsey, Stuart Martin and many more.

"I was also very lucky to hear from Mark Clattenburg which was very interesting and motivational! Overall it was a fantastic week of development and refereeing which I thoroughly enjoyed.”