Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga is one of the three female referees selected to officiate at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
The Rwandan referee made history as the first woman to referee a men’s match at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and this will also be the first time to have a female referee in the men’s FIFA World cup.
Mukansanga was selected alongside Japanese Yamashita and French Stephanie Frappart and three female assistant referees.
The final list of the 36 match referees was announced by World football governing body (FIFA) on Thursday, 19th May.
Likewise Brazil’s Neuza Back, Mexico’s Karen Diaz Medina and American Kathryn Nesbitt have been included in the 69 assistant referees.
FIFA Referees Committee Chairman Pierluigi Collina said: “We are very happy that..we have been able to call up female match officials for the first time in the history of a FIFA World Cup”.
Mukansanga told reporters in Doha on Friday that they have been selected because they deserved to be. She said: “Back at our confederation, or back at home it is another level, so this is the biggest level of football, so being here means we deserve to be here, it is not a change or because we are women”.
Furthermore, all match officials for the finals will participate in seminars in Asuncion, Madrid and Doha.