Female referees will be at men’s World Cup for the first time

Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga, and Yoshimi Yamashita will help make history in Qatar

For the first time, there will be female referees at a men’s World Cup.

FIFA confirmed on Thursday that three female referees and three female assistant referees have been selected for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Stéphanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita were selected as referees, alongside assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Díaz Medina from Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt from the United States.

“This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments,” said Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.

“In this way, we clearly emphasize that it is quality that counts for us and not gender. I would hope that in the future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational.”

Overall, FIFA selected 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials for the tournament.

Americans refereeing at the World Cup

Of the 129 officials named by FIFA to work at the World Cup, there were four Americans.

Ismail Elfath, who has been refereeing in MLS for 10 years, was the only American selected to be a referee. It will be the first World Cup for the 40-year-old official.

Nesbitt and Kyle Atkins were selected as assistant referees, while Armando Villarreal was named a video match official.

Full list of 2022 World Cup referees can be found HERE.

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