Men's World Cup to Have Female Referees for 1st Time in History in Qatar

The FIFA men's World Cup will have female referees for the first time in the event's history during the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

On Thursday, FIFA announced the list of matchday officials for the event, which included three female referees and six women in total.

Stephanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita are among the 36 referees. Neuza Back, Karen Diaz Medina and Kathryn Nesbitt are on the selected assistant referees.

"As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide," Pierluigi Collina, the FIFA Referees Committee chairman, said. "The 2018 World Cup was very successful, partly because of the high standard of refereeing, and we will do our best to be even better in a few months in Qatar."

Collina added he hopes the presence of female match officials "will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational" in the future.

Frappart made history in December 2020 when she became the first woman to officiate a men's UEFA Champions League match. In April, she broke new ground again when she was named the referee for the French Cup final.

Mukansanga is likewise a trailblazer in Africa. She was the first woman to work an Africa Cup of Nations fixture in January, having already taken part in the Olympics and Women's World Cup.

Yamashita was part of the first all-female officiating crew in the AFC Cup in 2019 and worked the Women's World Cup as well.