The 2026 World Cup already has its judges. FIFA has released the official list of the 170 chosen judges: 52 main judges, 88 assistants and 30 VAR judges, who will have the mission of dispensing justice in the biggest tournament in history. The refereeing headquarters will be none other than Miami, where Pierluigi Collina himself will be in charge of the referees from May 31.
This World Cup will not only be record-breaking for its 48 teams, but also for its inclusion. Six women will make history in the field, highlighting local talent: Mexico’s Katia Garcia (main) and USA’s Tori Penso (main) lead this elite group. In addition, Mexico adds the experience of Cesar Ramos among the main players, while the USA will also have Ismail Elfath.
A Mexican woman will make history
FIFA has published the names of the 52 referees, 88 assistants and 30 VAR assistants for the 2026 World Cup. César Ramos and Katia Itzel García have been chosen by Mexico. pic.twitter.com/1icPoiM99w
– Alberto Lati (@albertolati) April 9, 2026
FIFA made official the list of referees appointed as main, assistant and video referees for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played between June 11 and July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Fifty-two principal collegiate members were selected, in addition to 88 assistants and 30 video assistants.
They have been chosen from the six international confederations and a total of 50 federations, which FIFA defines as “the most complete refereeing team in the history of the World Cup”.
“The appointments have been based on FIFA’ s traditional principle of prioritizing quality above all else.
The regularity of the performance shown by the candidates was also taken into account,” reads the organization’s communiqué.
In total, the 2026 World Cup will have 41 more referees than Qatar 2022.
In addition, six of them will be women: Mexicans Katia García (principal) and Sandra Ramírez (assistant), Americans Tori Penso (principal), Brooke Mayo (assistant) and Kathryn Nesbitt (assistant) and Nicaraguan Tatiana Guzmán (VAR).
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s head of referees and chairman of the Referees Committee, said: “They are the best in the world. Our goal is to ensure that they are in top physical and mental condition when they arrive in Miami on May 31. Our analysts will provide the referees with all the information they need to prepare properly.
“As in previous editions of the World Cup, technology will be very important in assisting the refereeing teams in their decision making. In addition, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, the use of new technologies will provide fans with the referees’ view of the play from the field of play,” he added.
The refereeing team will be based in Miami, which will also host a ten-day preparation seminar starting May 31.
Afterwards, the video referees will travel to Dallas, home of the International Broadcasting Center, while the rest will remain in Miami.
Massimo Busacca, head of FIFA’s Refereeing Branch, said: “All candidates were closely evaluated by FIFA instructors, physical trainers, doctors and physiotherapists, and received comprehensive support to ensure they reach the highest possible standards at the tournament.
List of referees for the 2026 World Cup
– Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT)
– Khalid Al Turais (KSA)
– Yusuke Araki (JPN)
– Omar Abdulkadir Artan (SOM)
– Pierre Atcho (GAB)
– Ivan Barton (SLV)
– Dahane Beida (MTN)
– Juan Gabriel Benítez (PAR)
– Juan Calderón (CRC)
– Raphael Claus (BRA)
– Ismail Elfath (USA)
– Espen Eskas (NOR)
– Alireza Faghani (AUS)
– Yael Falcón Pérez (ARG)
– Drew Fischer (CAN)
– Cristian Garay (CHI)
– Katia García (MEX)
– Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)
– Alejandro Hernández (ESP)
– Darío Herrera (ARG)
– Jalal Jayed (MAR)
– Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL)
– Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
– François Letexier (FRA)
– Ning Ma (CHN)
– Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)
– Danny Makkelie (NED)
– Szymon Marciniak (POL)
– Maurizio Mariani (ITA)
– Héctor Said Martínez (HON)
– Amin Mohamed (EGY)
– Oshane Nation (JAM)
– Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
– Michael Oliver (ENG)
– Omar Al Ali (UAE)
– Kevin Ortega (PER)
– Tori Penso (USA)
– Joao Pinheiro (POR)
– Ramon Abatti (BRA)
– César Ramos (MEX)
– Andrés Rojas (COL)
– Sandro Schaerer (SUI)
– Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
– Anthony Taylor (ENG)
– Gustavo Tejera (URU)
– Facundo Tello (ARG)
– Abongile Tom (RSA)
– Clément Turpin (FRA)
– Jesús Valenzuela (VEN)
– Slavko Vincic (SVN)
– Wilton Sampaio (BRA)
– Felix Zwayer (GER)
Filed under: List of referees for the 2026 World Cup
With information from EFE
