There will be female referees at the World Cup for the first time in history

History will be made at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA announces that three female referees and three female assistant referees are among the 129 referees that were selected to work World Cup games this fall. This will mark the first time in history that women will be officiating a major men’s soccer tournament.

FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina spoke about the decision, and wanted to make it clear that these women were picked due to their qualifications, and not because of bias and fulfilling quotas.

“As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide,” said Collina.

“In this way, we clearly emphasise that it is quality that counts for us and not gender.”

The 2022 World Cup will take place from November 21-December 18.