Under-20 Women's World Cup to be the First to Feature All-Female Refereeing Teams

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 2 June 2022

FIFA has named an all-female team of 54 officials for this year's Under-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, marking the first time the organization has done so for one of its tournaments.

The games will be overseen by 13 female referees, 27 female assistant referees, and 14 video match officials, with VAR being used for the first time in a FIFA women's youth competition.

FIFA has previously been able to manage a tournament with an all-female refereeing panel, but it has had to rely on male officials to fully staff the VAR hub.

"We are delighted to write a new chapter in women's football history," said Kari Seitz, FIFA's head of women's refereeing." Not only will the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup be the first FIFA youth women's event to utilise VAR technology, but it will also be the first competition with an all-female video match officials staff.

"FIFA has been working tirelessly to encourage the development of women VARs globally, as most women's football does not yet use VAR. This event will be a great opportunity to showcase the skills of the selected women VARs and also an opportunity to continue the development our women VARs as part of the Road to Australia/New Zealand 2023 project."

It comes after FIFA appointed female referees for the first time in the men's World Cup, with Stephanie Frappart of France, Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan scheduled to oversee games in Qatar.

Between August 10 and 28, the U-20 Women's World Cup will be held in the Costa Rican cities of Alajuela and San Jose.

Sian Massey-Ellis, a Premier League assistant referee, is one of the officials chosen to serve as an assistant VAR.