FIFA World Cup: Qatar will feature female referees for the first time

FIFA announced on Thursday that women referees will officiate matches at the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar for the first time.

This year’s World Cup in Qatar, which will run from November 21 to December 18, will feature three female referees and three female assistant referees.

Asst. referees Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, Stephanie Frappart from France, and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita have all been called up to the International Olympic Committee’s refereeing team.

FIFA has selected a total of 36 match officials, 69 assistant match officials, and 24 video match officials for the tournament.

When female match officials were first introduced to men’s junior and senior tournaments in the early 2000s, Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Referees Committee chairman, declared that “a long process” had ended.

“We believe that they are deserving of a place at the FIFA World Cup because they consistently perform at a high level.

In order to select the best referees in the world, “quality first” has always been the criterion, and the match officials chosen are the best in their field.

Frappart became the first female official to referee at a European Championship match last year when UEFA included her in their list of referees.