One of the most notable firsts in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will be the introduction of female referees for the first time ever at a World Cup for men. The 36 referees chosen to oversee games in the Qatar World Cup include Stephanie Frappart of France, Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan.
Neuza Back of Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico, and Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States, three of the 69 assistant referees, will join the trio.
Let’s learn more about the female referees as history approaches.
Frappart, Stephanie
Frappart, a French national, has already had a rapid ascent in her career as a referee. In 2019, the year she officiated her native France’s women’s World Cup final, the 38-year-old became the league’s first female referee.
Frappart officiated the French Cup final last year, the 2020 Champions League, and the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea.
Yoshimi Yamashita
Yoshimi Yamashita, who is two years younger than Frappart, rose to the top of the men’s game in Japan and became the first woman to officiate an Asian Champions League match in 2019.
She also served as a referee for one of the matches at the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
Yamashita gave up her position as a fitness coach, which she had done on a part-time basis prior to being pro, earlier this year.
Mukansanga Salima
Mukansanga, 34, was chosen to represent her country at the World Cup after becoming the first female match referee at the men’s Africa Cup of Nations in January. She has also presided over matches at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
The Rwandan once had dreams of playing basketball professionally, but by the time she turned 20 she was already officiating in the domestic women’s league in her own nation.
