Football

FIFA unveils 170 match officials for expanded 2026 World Cup

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, with a total of 170 selected for the tournament.

The list includes 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials drawn from six confederations and 50 member associations. Six of the referees are women.

“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.

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

The 2026 World Cup, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 teams and 104 matches.

The number of officials is higher than in the previous edition in Qatar, where 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.

Femi Akinyemi

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