FIFA Reveals 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup Including Six Female Officials

The organisation that oversees football has additionally appointed 88 assistant referees along with 30 video assistant referees, drawn from every one of the six confederations and 50 different member associations.

"The selected match officials are the very best in the world," stated Pierluigi Collina, who serves as FIFA's head of refereeing.

"They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

"In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed."

The tournament across the United States, Canada, and Mexico promises to be the largest ever, featuring 48 teams and 104 fixtures.

This represents 41 more officials compared to the event in Qatar four years earlier, which involved 32 teams and 64 games.

"The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women's refereeing," Collina commented, noting that six women had already taken charge of matches in 2022.