On Thursday, 19th May 2022 history was made. FIFA has selected 3 female referees to officiate in the upcoming Men’s World cup in Qatar, 2022.
However, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga made the list. She will be the first African Woman referee to officiate the event.
Rwanda’s Mukansanga was the first woman to refresh a match at the African Cup of Nations finale, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In addition, Stephanie Frappart of France and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan will be joining Mukasanga.
Stephanie Frappart was the first female to referee a Champions League match and European Qualifier. She has also refereed the men’s Uefa Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea.
Yoshimi was the first woman referee to take charge of an AFC Champions League. She also took charge of the Asian equivalent of the men’s Champions League.
The Fifa Referees Committee Chairman Pierluigi has this to say:
“We are very happy that … we have been able to call up female match officials for the first time in the history of a FIFA World Cup.”
“This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments.
“In this way, we clearly emphasise that it is quality that counts for us and not gender. I would hope that in the future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational.”