Of the 107 referees and assistants selected for the World Cup, eleven are from Africa. The four are Moroccan (three women, one man).
FIFA unveiled on Monday, January 9, the list of referees appointed for the next Women's World Cup, scheduled from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. They are 33 referees, 55 assistants and 19 in charge of the video. Of these 107 judges, 11 are from Africa: 4 central, 6 touch judges and one video assistant (Adil Zourak from Morocco). The latter is the only man of the African contingent dominated by women.
33 referees
55 assistant referees
19 video match officialsCongratulations to the match officials who have been selected for this year's #FIFAWWC 🙌@FIFAWWC #BeyondGreatness
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) January 9, 2023
Morocco is the most represented country with four elements. Adil Zourak, referee Bouchra Karboubi (referee) and assistants Soukaina Hamdi and Fatiha Jermoumi. Togo, South Africa, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, Mali, Kenya and Mauritius complete the table with one representative each.
"The best in the world"
"As usual, it is the quality that guided our choice. Our selection simply corresponds to the best in terms of women's refereeing in the world," said Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the Referees Committee, in a statement from FIFA.
Between now and the finals, the selected referees will perfect their skills. "In January and February, (they) will participate in preparatory seminars (held in Doha and Montevideo) during which they will analyze video clips of real match situations and they will participate in filmed training sessions that will allow instructors to provide instant feedback to participants,"says FIFA.
Africa already has four representatives among the qualified teams: Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa and Zambia. This number could increase to six if Senegal and Cameroon, who take part in the play-offs scheduled in Aotearoa (New Zealand) between February 17 and 23.
