Who Are the Women Refereeing at the Men’s World Cup?
The World Cup started a little more than a week ago, bringing a ton of exciting action. What’s more, women officiate for the first-ever time in men’s World Cup history! Better late than never, right? Let’s highlight the trailblazing women refereeing on the world’s biggest stage.
Stéphanie Frappart
From France, Frappart has refereed since the age of 13. She was the first woman to officiate the men’s Ligue 1 in France and the first woman to referee a World Cup qualifying match, in 2021.
Now, she’s the first woman to ever referee in a men’s World Cup match, during Germany vs. Costa Rica on December 1.
Neuza Back
Neuza Back, from Brazil, began refereeing amateur matches when she was still completing her studies in physical education. Also a soccer player herself, Back completed a six-month referee course where she finished top of her class.
Back refereed at the Tokyo 2022 Olympics and is now an assistant referee alongside Frappart and Diaz Medina in Qatar 2022.
Karen Diaz Medina
From Mexico, Diaz was certified as a FIFA Assistant Referee in 2018 and is on the all-women team alongside Back and Frappart for the December 1 FIFA World Cup match.
She’s refereed a handful of Concacaf tournaments and the 2020 Women’s Olympic Qualifying!
“This is a profession that makes you fall more and more in love every day as each day you can face a new challenge. It is a fantastic experience that involves all your senses in each game,” said Diaz in a Concacaf interview.
Kathryn Nesbitt
Kathryn Nesbitt will represent the United States as an assistant referee and VAR this World Cup.
She had her professional referee debuts during the 2013 NWSL season and the 2015 MLS season.
Surprisingly, Nesbitt was a chemist working on brain chemical analysis for ten years up until the 2019 Women’s World Cup!
Yoshimi Yamashita
Yoshimi Yamashita is a referee from Japan. She refereed games at the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
One of the three female center referees at the World Cup, Yamashita expressed her surprise at being selected as a referee and her hopefulness for more inclusion for women refs in the future, in an interview with The Sun.
Salima Mukansanga
From Rwanda, Mukansanga is another of the three female referees at the World Cup in Qatar. She’s been listed as an official international referee by FIFA since 2012 and reffed at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
She became the first woman to referee at the African Cup of Nations in 2022. On top of that, she led an all-women officiating team!
In her youth, Mukansanga learned the rules and regulations on her own time, which convinced the Rwandan Football Federation to allow her to take courses despite being too young.
Featured image via Getty Images
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