By Seyi Babalola
FIFA announced on Thursday the list of match officials for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19, featuring 52 referees, six of whom are women.
In addition, football’s governing body will appoint 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“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 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with 48 teams and 104 matches.
There are 41 more match officials than in Qatar four years ago, when 32 teams played 64 matches.
“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 said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
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