CHICAGO (Nov. 16, 2007) – The United States Soccer Federation and Official Sports International will unveil a brand new referee uniform this Sunday, Nov. 18 during the MLS Cup between the Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The four-man referee crew will be the first to wear the uniform, which was approved by the USSF earlier this year.

The never-before-seen uniforms feature a redesigned shirt and socks, as well as a new color option with green being added to the array of gold, red, blue and the traditional black. The new design features an updated stripe pattern, raglan-style sleeve and a colored notch on the back collar. Also featured on the sleeve of the shirt and on the shorts is the updated U.S. Soccer Referee Program logo, which was introduced earlier this year.

This launch marks the first time U.S. Soccer’s official referee uniform design has been changed since 1998, when an updated kit was presented after the World Cup. The last time a new USSF-approved color option was made available was 2002, when blue was introduced. The new uniforms will be available for purchase at officialsports.com. Official Sports International has served as the exclusive supplier of USSF Referee apparel and accessories since 1998.

The 2007 MLS Cup kicks off at 12 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ABC. The man in the middle for Sunday’s final will be Alex Prus of Simpsonville, S.C., who will be officiating his first MLS Cup. The assistant referees will be Adam Wienckowski of Elkridge, Md., and Robert Fereday of Laurel, Md., both of whom will be running the lines in their first MLS Cup. The fourth official will be 2007 MLS/OSI Referee of the Year Brian Hall.