Mark Clattenburg and Howard Webb are among a group of 52 referees from around the globe in line for a place at 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The Select Group duo are in attendance at a week-long seminar at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

The workshop, which was opened by the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, encompasses Medical Tests, Fitness Tests and Practical and Tactical Positioning sessions on the football pitch, as well as theoretical classroom based sessions.

46 different countries are represented by the 52 referees at the seminar, which is under the leadership of FIFA’s Head of Refereeing, Massimo Busacca. They will all be treated to a varied programme designed to prepare them for their upcoming tasks, and particularly for their work at the World Cup, should they make the final cut.

Clattenburg and Webb are themselves no strangers to the big matches.

Clattenburg was the man in the middle for the London 2012 Olympic Men's Football Final when Mexico beat Brazil 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.

Webb was, of course, referee for the last World Cup Final in 2010 as Spain beat Holland. Earlier that year, he had also been in charge of the UEFA Champions League Final when Inter Milan won 2-0 against Bayern Munich in Madrid.

Joining the pair of the full 156-strong 'open list of prospective referees and assistant referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup' are Stephen Child, Simon Beck, Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann.

Child and Beck were on the line for the Olympic Final alongside Clattenburg, while Mullarkey and Cann have officiated alongside Webb in both the Champions League and World Cup Finals.

"The preparations ahead of the tournament are incredibly important," Blatter told the gathered referees in Zurich. "You will form my team, which will be the 33rd team at the World Cup and one of the most important."

Busacca added: "It is important to underline that this is an open list,"

"It is like a national team, and we're the FIFA national team. Those referees who are not here today need to know that they can still make it, while others can always drop out of the group. We want to have the best referees available at the 2014 World Cup ."

Once this week's seminar is over, the next few months will focus on communication and observation.

All 52 referees will officiate at FIFA tournaments in 2013 and be monitored by the FIFA Referee Team in their national confederations. A second seminar will then be held at the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013, before a final one the following year.

Images from the seminar provided courtesy of FIFA