FIFA names a record 170 match officials for World Cup
The FIFA World Cup 2026 trophy is on display ahead of the draw ceremony for the 2026 World Cup Europe qualifiers. Christian Charisius/dpa FIFA has on Thursday named 52 referees for the World Cup in summer, including Poland's Szymon Marciniak who officiated the 2022 final between Argentina and France. Football's world governing body also named 88 assistant referees and 30 video assistant referees for the June 11-July 19 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The match officials come from 50 member federations across all FIFA confederations and also include six women, after Stéphanie Frappart of France became the first woman in charge of a men's World Cup game four years ago in Qatar. Frappart is not part of the 2026 officials. "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,” FIFA referee commission chairman Pierluigi Collina said.
The record number of 170 match officials is up 41 from 2022 because the World Cup has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams, with 104 matches to be played. "The selected match officials are the very best in the world," Collina said. "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 only German referee is Felix Zwayer who has officiated at Euro 2024, the Club World Cup and the 2025 Europa League final.
The German assistant referees are Christian Dietz and Robert Kempter, and Bastian Dankert is the video assistant referee.