The 2022 Men’s World Cup will bring together female referees for the first time in the tournament’s history.
FIFA on Thursday announced a list of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees, and 24 video game directors selected for the tournament in Qatar in November and December.
Included are three female referees, Stephanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga, and Yoshimi Yamashita, and three assistant referees, Neuza Back, Kathryn Nesbitt, and Karen Diaz Medina.
Frappart has experience in world-class European football, became the first woman referee in a UEFA Champions League match and a European Cup qualifier, and has co-hosted Ligue 1 matches.
Musansanga became the first woman referee in the Africa Cup of Nations, and Yamashita became the first woman to officiate an AFC Champions League match.
Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the Fifa Referees Committee, said: “We are very pleased with Stephanie Frappart of France, Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan, and assistant referee Neuza Back of Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico no. Kathryn Nesbitt of the USA has been able to summon the women’s sports directors for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
“This concludes a long process that began a few years ago with the sending of female referees to the FIFA junior and senior men’s tournaments.
“In this way, we clearly emphasize that the standard is important to us and not to the gender. .
“They deserve to be in the FIFA World Cup because they are always at the top level, and that is an important factor for us.”
Premier League officials Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor are also part of the refereeing team.
“As always, the terms we have used are ‘standard first’ and the appointed match officials represent the highest quality referee in the world,” added Collina.
“The 2018 World Cup has been a great success, thanks to the high level of referees, and we will do our best to improve in a few months in Qatar.
“The epidemic affected our operations, especially in 2020 and early 2021. Fortunately, the World Cup was still a long way off, and we had plenty of time to give the candidates a good preparation.
“We are announcing these stages early as we want to work hard with all the FIFA World Cup nominees, and we will be monitoring them in the coming months.
“The message is clear: do not give up, keep working hard and prepare well for the World Cup.”
