The FIFA Referees Committee officially on Tuesday announced the lists of the match officials who have been appointed to officiate at the forthcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022.
A total of 14 women referees, 28 women assistant referees, three support referees and 16 video match officials will take charge of the matches.
Commenting on the announcement, chairman of the FIFA’s Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina said: “We are delighted that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is returning after a four-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are really looking forward to this important competition in India taking place in October. For the match officials, of course, it’s another big stage in the preparation of the potential candidates for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.”
“As already mentioned on several occasions and following appointments of referees for other FIFA competitions, we’ve always worked aiming for uniformity and consistency in decision-making. We are convinced that the appointed match officials can gain useful experience with a view to the biggest women’s football competition in the world, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand next year,” he added.
On the other hand, FIFA’s Head of Refereeing, Women, Kari Seitz said: “The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will give us important and significant insights into the qualities of the match officials who have been appointed. We are very happy that, also for the first time, VAR technology will be used at a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.”
“This event will be another great opportunity to showcase the skills of the appointed VARs and continue the development of our female VARs as part of the Road to Australia/New Zealand 2023 project,” Seitz added.
Notably, the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 will take place in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Navi Mumbai and the competition will be played between October 11 and 30 with the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai hosting the final.