Match officials appointed for FIFA World Cup 2026

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DAR ES SALAAM: FOLLOWING a meticulous and comprehensive selection process spanning over three years, FIFA has released the list of match officials who will oversee games at the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

The FIFA Team One cohort includes 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 Member Associations, in what is the most comprehensive lineup of match officials in FIFA World Cup™ history.

The appointments were made on the basis of FIFA’s long-standing “quality first” principle, while consideration was given to the consistency of the performances delivered by candidates at FIFA tournaments, as well as in international and domestic competitions in recent years.

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer and chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said: “The selected match officials are the very best in the world. They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years.

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They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments. In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.

The selected officials have received, and will continue to receive, comprehensive support from our fitness coaches and medical staff, including physiotherapists and a mental specialist. Our goal is to ensure that they’re in optimal physical and mental condition when they arrive in Miami on 31 May.”

“This year’s FIFA World Cup will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be contested across the most extensive geographical footprint in the tournament’s history,” Collina continued. “It’ll be the largest FIFA Team One ever, with 41 more match officials than at Qatar 2022.

Each of them must be ready to be appointed for a match and to contribute actively to ensuring that the refereeing at the World Cup is a success. 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.”